


Pivotal Moments

by JTRex235



Category: Mass Effect Trilogy
Genre: Awkward Flirting, Awkward Sexual Situations, Awkwardness, Eventual Smut, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, M/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-03
Updated: 2019-07-23
Packaged: 2019-10-21 07:33:56
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 20,855
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17638514
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JTRex235/pseuds/JTRex235
Summary: John Shepard's life was not going as he mapped it out. He was supposed to be finishing his doctorates in zoology and tromping around planets discovering and categorizing new fauna. Instead of poking things with sticks, he had let Anderson talk him into two more years of service as his XO on a shiny new experimental frigate. Now he found himself commanding that frigate as a Spectre with a weird new crew of aliens and marines. Thankfully a certain handsome turian was around to help with his awkward flailing. That is, if the commander could work up the courage and ask the damn man out.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> First and foremost I want to thank MizDirected for letting me use her expansive Turian Vocabulary and Culture. Without it, this story wouldn't have the depth I hope it does. If you have not already gotten addicted to her amazing writing and epic stories, go check them out now!
> 
> As this is my first work to be published here, I welcome any comments or constructive criticism. The first few chapters will be a bit short as they span the trilogy, but as the characters grow, so will the chapters. I hope you enjoy reading this as much as I did writing it.  
>  
> 
> Torin -- Torini plural. Male turian of the age of majority (15)
> 
> Obluvis -- plural Obluvi. One who is senile or absent-minded. Slang: Idiot
> 
> Perir -- Peririn plural. Male turian under the age of 15
> 
> Merillien -- Tiny, scaled bird analogues prized for their intelligence and the beautiful scaled harmonies they sing. Most merillen have pale, opalescent scales in various shades of white, beige, and grey. Rare cases come in a pale red or black.
> 
> Season of Esculentis (Cycle of Ripening)

****

  


A corona of pain flared behind Shepard’s eyes as he sat back on his bunk. Taking a rock to one’s head as a cave filled with lava did not do any favors, he figured. Setting down the data pad he was half heartedly working on, he blinked his eyes a few times.

 

“No serious physical strain for twenty four hours.” Chakwas had said.

 

The message to mom could wait. Shepard rolled off his bunk and fumbled around in the cold, dark room for his pants. A lap or two of the ship wasn’t serious strain and the twenty four hour period was almost up, plus he should probably check on his crew. The Normandy in the last couple of says had grown heavier by four aliens. Wrex likely counted as six weight wise, and he wasn’t sure on how much the turian weighed. He had never seen Garrus out of his blue C-Sec armor.

 

He finished redressing and made his way onto the aggravatingly slow elevator. Classified stealth tech, yet the budget didn’t allow for a decent speed on the elevator. Maybe he could get Adams tinker with it.

 

After what seemed like an eternity, Shepard stepped off the elevator and made his way over to where Garrus was at the weapons and armor bench.

 

“Hello, Commander. Need something?”

 

“I needed to pass some time. Figured I’d stop by and see how you were after Therum. Looked like your armor took a few hits.” Shepard smiled as he leaned his back onto the wall next to the weapons bench.

 

“Just this leg guard. Glancing round. Guess I wasn’t sprinting to cover fast enough.” Garrus regarded the Commander. Human faces were odd, the entire thing moved with a simple smile.

 

“Do you need an upgrade? I can’t imagine C-Sec amor is up to a full on geth assault. I can see what the requisitions officer has on tap and put in an order.”

 

“Hm.” Garrus shrugged. “I think I’ll be okay. Just need to remember how to stay in cover.”

 

Shepard chuckled at the dry wit, and instead of leaving, he watched the turian work at repairing his armor. A few moments of comfortable silence passed before curiosity got the better of him.

 

“Do you ever take your armor off?” Shepard internally facepalmed at the phrasing his brain farted out.

 

“Well, I do need to shower now and then. That’s a cross species need.” He hummed in amusement. “If you’re asking why I wear it on the ship, the answer would be that it’s normal for turians. A simple uniform won’t do much if we vent atmosphere. It’s also normal to take it off for sparring.”

 

“I’ve never sparred with a turian.” Shepard mused. “Have you sparred with humans?”

 

“Of course. Had to at the academy. We learned some basic techniques from various militaries. It’s hard to break up a bar brawl between Alliance marines and asari commandos if you don’t know what to expect. So they say. We usually just deploy a stun net and take out the whole crowd and sort it later.”

 

“I would expect a few singularities at least.” He bared his teeth in a human grin that crinkled his eyes and brow.

 

Garrus laughed at that. It was a deep humming sound that reminded Shepard of shifting boulders.

 

“Just because you enjoy slapping everything in sight with those doesn’t mean asari do, Commander. They are fast on their feet in hand-to-hand. A merc might fight dirty but most love to kick ass without biotics, just to prove they can. I’d be glad to teach you a thing or two if you want. It helps pass the time, plus I need a break from the bench.” Garrus offered, looking up from his handiwork. He realized how quickly and easily his turian formality dropped around this man. Alliance ships were weird, or maybe just this one. He’d have to do some more investigation.

 

Shepard’s brain shorted out again as he made eye contact with Garrus. Brilliant in battle, shit in social etiquette. Or just shit at being normal, as Maggie puts it.

 

“Sure.” Great vocabulary.

 

Garrus stared a bit longer.

 

“So... do you want to get a mat, Commander? I don’t think this non slip deck would be comfortable for your skin.”

 

“Yeah. I’ll go put one down.”

 

Shepard searched around the bay for a moment for the sparring and work out mats. He told himself that it would be good to brush up on his hand-to-hand. He relied heavily on biotics and if that ever failed, having a backup plan wouldn’t hurt. He also told himself he wanted Garrus to feel more comfortable around the ship. Sparring could be a good way to get the usually tense turian to loosen up. Tali had Adams and the engines to keep her occupied, Wrex was… Wrex and Liara hid herself away in the ship’s lab. She was an odd one. She reminded him of himself when he was on his first posting. He did not feel like he fit in, and his lack of social ability, plus the taboo of being a powerful biotic, did him little favors. He’d check in on her more later.

 

For now, Shepard had secured a large mat and spread it out on the open deck. Garrus strode over and hummed in approval.

 

“Looks good, Commander.” He nodded.

 

Shepard found himself fascinated at the sight of the torin in his under armor jumpsuit. The tight material did leave little to the imagination. Garrus was a solid head taller than he, and his long muscular arms and legs gave him a reach that could easily eclipse the shorter human’s. Shepard had always wondered if turian hips would make for good leg purchase. His time in the Alliance had left him little interaction with other aliens. His childhood even less, besides his asari tutor when his biotics manifested. He had seen plenty of turians outside of armor, but nothing as form fitting as what Garrus wore under his. This was going to be an interesting lesson.

 

“Ready when you are.” Garrus said lightly, his mandibles twitching in a way Shepard couldn’t read.

 

“Yes.” Shepard said in all his literary genius, blushing as he worked THOSE thoughts out of his head.

 

Pushing past the awkwardness, his training mode kicked in. Garrus was a good instructor. After a half hour the two made it past the “crawl” stage and into the “walk” stage. Shepard picked up the techniques quickly, and soon found himself circling the torin as he made slow attacks Shepard was to counter.

 

“You learn quick, Commander.” Garrus pointed out as Shepard successfully dodged and countered another attack. “I think we can ramp up the speed a bit. I’m going to come in harder and faster. Same thing. Do your best to counter.”

 

Harder and faster he says. Shepard forced himself to focus as Garrus’ long limbs came in for another attack. Shepard faltered and a kick landed lightly on his gut.

 

“Hmm.” Garrus hummed, his mandibles flicking in amusement. “I thought Alliance marines prided themselves in their hand-to-hand combat, or have you just been relying too heavily on warped ground policy?” Shepards translator didn’t work well on the idiom or word play.

 

“It’s ‘scorched earth’, and I thought that was a turian strategy? Bomb everything from orbit and not get your fingers dirty.” He countered the next attack.

 

“Oh we can get our talons dirty, Commander.” Garrus said with a low hum Shepard almost didn’t perceive.

 

A few minutes of silence passed as the two worked up a good sweat. Garrus picked up the pace just a bit more and Shepard kept up well. Garrus tried a maneuver he hadn’t thrown at the human in awhile. He threw a couple of feints and Shepard's guard was open. Shepard blocked but before he could think Garrus had him in a bear hug and the two crashed to the mat. The wind was knocked out of Shepard and his recovering breath was filled with the turian’s smell.

 

Shepard’s brain shorted out again as the turian squirmed a bit on top of him. His nose filled with a smell that reminded him of cool, damp stone and that of a campfire, as well as a hint of musk. He smelled good. Really good. Shepard felt Garrus’ body heat radiated straight to his core.

 

“We’ll have to practice that one more, Commander.” The turian chuckled, as he climbed off the commander, his mandibles twitching in that odd way again. He was acutely aware of the human’s scent after they worked up a sweat. He smelled salty like the ocean, but also had a nice peaty smell that wasn't as acrid as most humans. His sharp sense of smell also was picking up a scent he couldn’t quite place.

 

“Sounds good. For now I think I need a shower.” He took the offered gloved hand, face flush with embarrassment, and righted himself up quickly. “And call me Shepard. No need to be so formal.”

 

Before Garrus could place the smell, or even respond to Shepard, the commander’s eyes rolled  into the back of his head and he tumbled forward into the turian.

 

“Damnit, skipper.” Ashley rushed over from where she had been watching the two spar. She helped extract the dead weight of the man from the turian that half caught him. “Lets get him to Chakwas. He might have a concussion from that rock that hit him.”

 

An arm draped over each of them, Garrus and Ashley carried him into the elevator and up to the doctor.

 

Chakwas turned from her desk to the sound of the door hissing open. From the looks of the unconscious sweaty human and un armored turian she made an educated guess.

 

“Sparring counts are physical strain. Now I have to reset the clock.” Garrus was jealous of the unconscious human, he wasn’t awake to live down the cutting glares and motherly disapproval in the doctor’s voice.

 

“I’m sorry, doctor. I wouldn’t have offered if I had known.” He said as he and Ashley set Shepard down on a medical bed.

 

“No need to apologize young man. Clearly my choice in trusting the commander to not get himself into more trouble was misplaced. I’ll have to keep a better eye on him and make sure he doesn’t take advantage of his crews ignorance. Nothing I can’t handle.” Garrus trusted that to be true, he was sure the major had loads of experience with stubborn patients. “Now shoo. Unless you have injuries that need attending, you’re stinking up my medical bay.”

 

Garrus made a tactical retreat and noticed the gunnery chief was nowhere in sight. Since he wasn’t interested in waiting an eternity for the elevator to finish her rapid retreat back to the cargo bay, the torin headed for the shower. That was when it hit him. That smell he remembered from the several times Montague had drug him to the asari strip club after shift. It was arousal. Garrus pushed the crazy thought from his head and took his wash kit from its spot in the cramped men’s locker room. Surely the commander wasn’t coming onto him. He wasn’t all that familiar with how Alliance ships ran, but he saw the commander check on every single member of his crew, interacting, joking, and asking about families and friends with them. For someone who claimed to be so socially awkward, he had a way of putting people at ease. Garrus settled on himself just being an obluvis and reading far too much into things. As he showered though, a thought struck him that he wouldn’t mind if the commander did find him attractive, absurd as it was. After a quick shower, Garrus donned his repaired armor and went about tinkering with the Mako’s weapon system.

 

A few hours passed quickly with his calibrations when Shepard made an appearance but quickly disappeared through one of the engine room doors. From the corner of his eye he saw Shepard emerge a few minutes later and speak to Wrex and Ashley in turn. His conversation with Wrex seemed serious and left the dark haired human solemn. His conversation with Ashley took on a much lighter tone and the two clearly shared a bonding moment over something they had in common. Leaving Ashley to her duties, Shepard stood a few meters away from Garrus, seemingly unsure of himself. Garrus threw the poor man a bone and broke the silence.

 

“Need something, Shepard?” He turned.

 

Shepard rubbed at his arm suddenly unsure of himself.

 

“Yeah. Sorry for blacking out on you there.” The corner of his mouth quirked into a wry smile.

 

“Its okay.” He gave the man a smile he hoped would relay that. “As long as you're okay.”

 

“I'll be fine. Chakwas however gave me quite the ass chewing.” He chuckled.

 

“She was not happy at all. Your gunnery chief made quite the tactical retreat that would make any Alliance commander proud.” He chuckled, flicking a mandible toward where Ashley worked.

 

“I'll make sure that honorable mention goes in my report. Thanks again, Garrus. I should go.” Before he could complete his turn toward the elevator Garrus spoke up.

 

“Commander!” Shepard turned back to the torin, “I wanted to thank you again. For allowing me to be here. Working with a Spectre is a nice break from the tedium and bureaucracy of C-Sec.”

 

Shepard’s back straightened a bit as he became more serious.

 

The two discussed some of Garrus’ time in C-Sec and his father’s expectations and views on Spectres.

 

“Just because you can break the rules doesn’t mean you should. I don’t need to stoop to Saren’s level to stop him. And neither should you, Garrus.” Shepard said with a quiet but nonetheless powerful conviction.  

 

“I see what you mean, but… I’ll think about it. Thank you, Commander.” Garrus watched the commander leave.

 

He really was being a perir. The commander was a bit odd and informal, but he was that way with everyone. Garrus brushed off his previous thoughts and returned to his work on the mako.

 

*****

 

The trip back to Port Hanshan from Peak 15 was desperate. When Shepard had activated the neutron purge countdown, it had been like kicking a hornet's nest. The rachni swarmed into the adjoining room in an attempt to stop the squad. During the retreat, Garrus had taken a spray of acid to his armor and it destroyed his environment controls. The turian was now at risk of freezing to death. The mako had sustained damage from the geth, and the heater was struggling to keep the cabin at a balmy 4.5 degrees celsius. The temperature outside was still plummeting, and the storm was blocking coms. Shepard drove the mako as quickly and carefully as possible.

 

“You awake there buddy?” Shepard asked the freezing turian. The torin was shivering uncontrollably.

 

Liara had wrapped a survival blanket around him, but it only did so much in the cold cabin. Turians were not equipped for cold.

 

“Just wishing we could fight geth on a tropical beach now and then, commander.” Garrus spoke with a chatter.

 

Behind him, Liara was working to repair the mako’s heater to raise the temperature. Despite the shock of losing her mother, she worked diligently. The atmosphere in the tank was thick with desperation and besides his driving, Shepard could do nothing. Shortly he remembered a song his mother used to sing to him when he was a child, when nightmares over took his dreams. Clearing his throat he began to sing.

 

 _When in the springtime of the year_  
_When the trees are crowned with leaves_  
_When the ash and oak, and the birch and yew_ _  
Are dressed in ribbons fair_

Garrus regarded the commander in surprise. Even with his translator, Shepard’s melody reminded the torin of the songs the merillien sung during Esculentis. It was nothing like the commander’s normal deep and gruff voice.

 

 _When owls call the breathless moon_  
_In the blue veil of the night_  
_The shadows of the trees appear_  
_Amidst the lantern light_

 _We've been rambling all the night_  
_And some time of this day_  
_Now returning back again_  
_We bring a garland gay_

The cold atmosphere of the cabin calmed as Shepard sang and guided the mako back to Port Hanshan. His soft melody washed away some of the desperation and grief in their hearts.

 

 _Who will go down to those shady groves_  
_And summon the shadows there_  
_And tie a ribbon on those sheltering arms_ _  
In the springtime of the year_

_The songs of birds seem to fill the wood_  
_That when the fiddler plays_  
_All their voices can be heard_  
_Long past their woodland days_

 _And so they linked their hands and danced_  
_Round in circles and in rows_  
_And so the journey of the night descends_  
_When all the shades are gone_

 _A garland gay we bring you here_  
_And at your door we stand_  
_It is a sprout well budded out_ _  
The work of our Lord's hand_

 

As the lyrics came to end, John hummed and sang the finishing notes.

 

 _“Normandy to shore party. Do you read?”_ The coms crackled and popped with Joker’s voice.

 

“We read you Normandy. We need medical to meet us at the garage. Vakarian is getting hypothermia. Environmental controls took damage. We’re 5 minutes out.”

 

 _“Copy, medical.”_ Joker responded. _“Chakwas in route.”_

 

Shepard studied the freezing torin in the seat next to him. He placed his free hand on Garrus’ armored keel. The man was losing consciousness.

 

“Stick with us a bit longer. Almost there, buddy.”

 

Soon the garage in Port Hanshan was in view and the doors opened, promising shelter in the storm. The mako raced in and slid to a stop. The ice and snow caked on immediately began to melt and drip down the side.

 

Shepard and Liara helped the freezing torin out of the tank and onto the waiting stretcher Chakwas and Port Hanshan medics had ready. The rushed him off to the Normandy leaving Shepard with Captain Matsuo. His head began to hurt. This was going to be a lot of paperwork.

 

*****

 

Garrus was finally allowed outside the medical bay and made his way down to the cargo bay. When he approached his usual station, he saw a large-ish crate. A paper note sat on the top.

 

“I went ahead and made the executive decision of giving you an upgrade. It would’ve been here before this last mission, but they only had pink in stock, and I figured you wouldn’t want that. Blue was a special order. Enjoy!”

 

Garrus opened the crate and was greeted by a very expensive set of Colossus Armor by Kassa Fabrication. Garrus whistled at the armor, reading the statistics on the included data pad. It even had redundant environmental systems. Sure enough, the armor was the same blue that his old armor was. Garrus unpacked the pieces and began trying them on. He rolled his neck, twisted his arms and walked around. It was light, sturdy, and it fit perfectly. Garrus wasn’t sure what to make of the gift, but he certainly loved it.

 

Unsure of what to do next, he decided to start repairs on the mako. The Alliance mechanics always managed to mess up his calibrations.

 

Meanwhile Shepard had showered and changed into a clean uniform. After hours of report writing and a wonderful conversation with the council, he decided to go check on Garrus. He had already been discharged from the doctor, so John made his way down to the cargo bay. Sure enough, Garrus was where he usually was, working on the mako.

 

“I see you’ve already taken on the new armor. How do you like it?” Shepard smiled at the startled torin.

 

“Commander! It’s excellent. I’m not sure how I can thank you. It’s perfect.” The torin seemed very sheepish.

 

“Think nothing of it.” John waived off the concern, “I like to help my friend’s out. Too bad it didn’t get here sooner. The redundant environmental systems would have avoided the issue you had on the way back from the nightmare labs.”

 

“Yes. Well.” Garrus wrung his hands. “Thanks again, commander.”

 

“Anytime. I’ll leave you to your work. I should go check on Liara.”

 

Garrus watched the human leave, unsure of his emotions. He hadn’t realized Shepard considered him a friend. His heart leapt in appreciation. He really could be dense.

 

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shepard wasn't sure what he was pissed at more. The utter lack of security on his personal coms by both the Alliance and Citadel, or the asshole that sent him and his family the vid. 
> 
> C-Sec and a few techs in the Alliance intelligence community were on top of the security breach and trying to track down who sent it. Shepard had a feeling on who the culprits could be narrowed down to.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First and foremost I want to thank MizDirected for letting me use her expansive Turian Vocabulary and Culture. Without it, this story wouldn't have the depth I hope it does. If you have not already gotten addicted to her amazing writing and epic stories, go check them out now!
> 
> As this is my first work to be published here, I welcome any comments or constructive criticism. The first few chapters will be a bit short as they span the trilogy, but as the characters grow, so will the chapters. I hope you enjoy reading this as much as I did writing it.
> 
> Torin -- Torini plural. Male turian of the age of majority (15)
> 
> Kava -- A stimulating drink made from a hearty black bean with a tough exterior shell of the same name. When harvested and peeled, the bean can either be ground into an extremely thick paste for fresh kava, or roasted and ground into powder for longer storage and shipping. Fresh Kava is very rare off planets where it is grown and harvested as the shelf life is far less than its dried and roasted counterpart, even with vacuum packing and refrigeration.

Shepard wasn't sure what he was pissed at more. The utter lack of security on his personal coms by both the Alliance and Citadel, or the asshole that sent him and his family the vid. 

C-Sec and a few techs in the Alliance intelligence community were on top of the security breach, trying to track down who sent it. Shepard had a feeling on who the culprits could be narrowed down to.

An hour or two earlier he had been reading reports at the mess hall while dinner came to a close. His omni-tool beeped as the ships VI sent a message it deemed priority. He opened his messages and the video, labeled as an Alliance brief on the geth, auto played. It greeted him with guttural laughter and scenes of absolute slaughter as batarians allowed their varren to feast on the corpses strewn about what was clearly once a pristine hospital. Corpses he quickly recognized as Alliance marines, emergency personnel and medical staff. The helmet cam panned and Shepard's blood burned with fury when he instantly recognized the Mindoir Colony flag painted on the wall behind a destroyed nursing station. The mess hall had since gone silent but Shepard didn't register his crews concern as the feed froze and highlighted a particular spot. In the foreground a makeshift barricade guarded a door that led to the hospital's ambulance bay. Between that barricade and the door were a half dozen corpses of a few marines, constables and a man and woman in lab coats over Alliance fatigues.

Despite the grainy, badly zoomed in, out of focus frame, John instantly recognized the man in the lab coat as Lt. Colonel Adam Shepard. 

John's head spun in rage and grief as he nearly tore his omni-tool off in order to cut the video.

Shepard stormed up the stairs and to the comm room. As he passed through the CIC he barked at his comms officer and XO.

“Pressley, Madison, comms room. NOW.”

He spun on the two pailing officers as they entered the room.

“How the FUCK does something like this get past our security protocols and filters?!”

He nearly knocked Pressly in the face as he thrust his omni-tool at the two men and cued the video.

“I- I don't know, commander.” The XO stuttered, backing up a step and blanching further at both the graphic content and his furious CO. “We'll alert command and get right on it.”

“The instant you find out who or what sent it and how, you tell me.” Shepard growled, tossing his omni-tool to the ground at their feet.

Shepard tore through the ship into his quarters and locked the door behind him. A part of his brain knew he needed to gain control, but another part wasn't quite grounded in reality or reason. He felt like a teenager again, fresh out of high school and about to be on his way to university when his mother came home with the news.

He'd been numb for several days, but when he came home from the funeral was the day his emotions came to full head. His mother had said something about moving on, or healing and it struck him. His father, his idol, had been ruthlessly murdered by batarians for no other reason than being a human on a human colony. His mother and older siblings tried to calm him, but he didn't listen. They couldn't understand. His mother was hardly around and his older brother and sister had been off world as adults for years. When he stormed out of the house his mother had tried to stop him. He had cursed her out, said things that can't be taken back, and biotically kicked a huge dent in her car. 

He stayed at a friend's house that night and the next day enlisted in the Alliance. Two days later, despite his mother's best attempts, the young man was shipped off to basic. A couple years of enlisted life and Anderson's mentorship had kicked the anger out and turned the man into someone he could be proud enough of being.

Now, Shepard sat in his cabin mostly exhausted with his hand swollen and hurting from punching a bulkhead that decidedly won. His other hand clutched a data pad that pinged every few minutes with a message from his family.

He sighed. Sulking wasn't going to solve the issue, nor was a temper tantrum. His mother had received the same video on her ship, as did his brother and sister where they lived. The three were not faring well either, but looking at the message thread they had included him in, he had no idea how to handle this. He was never that close with his mom, and the way he had treated her after the funeral and ran off had ripped a massive rift between the two of them and did little favors with his relationship with Antoine or Maggie. Even after a decade some of those things hadn't fully recovered.

*****

Garrus braced himself as the door to Shepard's cabin opened. He stepped into the dark room and spotted the commander sitting on the floor at the foot of his bunk. His head snapped up to regard the torin, but instead of the anger Garrus expected, Shepard only seemed exhausted and surprised.

“Don't shoot. I'm not fully armed and I come with gifts.” 

John managed to close his mouth and noticed that Garrus held a tray stacked with medi-gel, ice packs, painkillers and what looked like a mug of coffee.

“I won't bite.” Shepard deflated a bit more, and held up his hand. “Not that I could if I wanted.”

“The doctor heard you punch the bulkhead and handed me these.” He said, setting the tray down on the bunk next to Shepard. “The coffee was my idea, though the doctor advised tea.”

The datapad pinged and Garrus gave it a curious look before continuing.

“Lieutenant Pressly says they're working on the trace still. He informed Alliance Command and I helped him write a report to C-Sec's cyberguys. He'll let you know when they get more information. They believe they've resecured your account for now.” Garrus nodded and went to exit the cabin. “Let us know if you need anything.”

The datapad pinged again as Shepard broke his silence. Garrus reached for the door control.

“Every solution that comes easy for me is shooting something in the face, blowing something up, or dragging it kicking and screaming to the authorities, regardless of the danger.” Shepard almost whispered. “Yet I can't even answer a vid com to talk to my family about this.”

Garrus paused at the door.

“Well.” He said with a deep hum from his subvocals. “The first ones are fun. Family is the hardest thing to deal with.”

“I'm the one that's the problem.” Shepard winced as he reached for the cup with his right hand, then switched to picking up the tea with his left.

Garrus moved over to Shepard and sat on the edge of the bunk with the tray between the two of them. He reached over and carefully took Shepard's right forearm and examined his bruised, swollen, and likely broken hand. 

“Then that would make you part of the solution, yes?” Garrus hummed again as he began applying medi-gel to Shepard’s hand. 

The sound coming from the torin reminded John of his childhood cat Alfie purring but with more base and a deeper layer of sound. Alfie knew whenever he was sick, sad, or lonely and the big grey ball of fur would spend hours on his lap or chest purring away. He closed his eyes and focused on the sound as it began pushing away all the black muck swirling in his brain and thoughts. 

Shepard felt a sharp pain and hissed at the sudden cold as Garrus pressed the ice pack against his knuckles. The pain slowly gave way to numbness as the cold seeped into his hand.

“Why not call just one?” Garrus asked, placing Shepard's hand on top of a second ice pack.

Shepard opened one eye and regarded turian.

“What do you mean? It affects all of them as much as me.”

“I mean that since there is some kind of underlying issue, start by trying to talk to just one so you don't feel ganged up on. Don't try to repair all the bridges, focus on one and it'll get easier. Just like the Road Layer of Cipritine.” Garrus received a blank look for that, “Old children's fable.”

“You may be right.” Shepard sighed, “Road pavers aside, I could really use that painkiller right now.”

With his had not occupied by holding Shepard's purple one between ice packs, he passed the weary human the bottle of pain pills.

“What was he like?” Garrus asked softly as he lifted one of the packs off and examined the swollen hand underneath.

Shepard mulled the answer for a bit. Nothing in the torin's posture or tone seemed to push or pry.

“He was my dad. I'm not sure what to say. We played football in the backyard on the weekends, he taught me how to ride a horse, and inspired my love of the outdoors and science. We had this antique combustion engine car we worked on. Been in the family for generations. Not sure how much of it was original after so many Shepards restoring it. Mom hated when dad took me out in it. The roads in the country of the family farm were still in use for ground vehicles. The car had no safety features and we’d spend hours in it.” Shepard trailed off wistfully. Shepard felt the warmth of the memory well up into a lump in his throat. He cleared his throat but the bubble threatened to burst as his eyes misted a bit.

Garrus pulled up the ice pack again and prodded a knuckle eliciting a howl and an angry glare from the human.

“Careful!” Shepard looked like he wanted to pull his hand away, but knew that would he a bad move.

“Sorry. It could be worse than you think. Chakwas will want you to go to the med bay once she knows how bad this is. She might just storm in here herself.” Garrus chuckled.

“Oh, I see.” Shepard threw some mock hurt, “This wasn't a mission to help your friend, you're on recon for the doc.”

“Why not both?” Garrus rumbled again in humor. “How's the hand feel?”

Shepard had worse, but not by much. The throbbing had subsided under the numbness of the cold, but he knew once it was removed he'd feel his heartbeat in his hand again.

“Better.” He said unconvincingly. The wince of pain didn't help when the ice packs shifted slightly.

Garrus shot the human a look that said he wasn't falling for it.

“I'll leave you to it. This stuff will buy you time to make a call or two before Chakwas storms in.”

“Thanks. I appreciate it.” Shepard hobbled his way up to his feet.

“Of course, Shepard. Someone has to look out for your squishy ass.” He rumbled a laugh.

“Oh! Well.” He blushed furiously as Garrus’ grin grew wider, thankful it was dim in his cabin. “Someone needs to check it out now and then I suppose. I mean, on it. Check on it. The other one sounded terrible.”

Garrus barked a laugh at that. 

“You're almost as easy to mess with as Alenko, Commander.” He waived off Shepards glare. “I'll be down in the cargo bay if you need help kicking ass.”

“Thanks, Garrus.”

Garrus nodded and exited the cabin.

Inside the once again silent cabin, Shepards fingers hovered over his console. Squaring his shoulders, he keyed the call. Each buzz of the comm reverberated in his ears as his heart thumped in his chest. The buzzing stopped and a cheerful beep announced the connection, followed by a visual notice that the call was encrypted per Alliance protocols. The notice disappeared and was replaced by a tired looking dark haired woman wearing Alliance fatigues and commander's bars on her shoulders. 

The two officers stared at one another for a moment.

“I-”  
“Are you-” 

They stopped and stared some more.

“Mom-”  
“Joh-”

Both Shepards let out an annoyed sigh.

“Mom, just give me a second to talk.” He wanted to shout but kept his voice level.

She opened and closed her mouth a few times before settling on just watching her son. John looked up from pinching his brow with his good hand.

“I know I should've said this far, far sooner, and honestly this is a shit time, but better years later than never. Especially since we need to all get through this.” He rolled his neck and shoulders as if preparing to step into the ring. “I'm sorry for what I said to you after the funeral. You loved dad as much as any of us, if not more. I was angry, vulnerable, and needed to lash out at something. You just happened to be the person that stumbled into my sights. I was a bit resentful of our distance before dad died, and instead of coming together, I said terrible things meant to hurt you, and ran away. I'm sorry.”

Hannah's stoic face cracked a bit and she let out a small sigh.

“Oh, John. I forgive you. All that built up anger and distance was my fault too. I gave dad the burden of being your parent and spent too much time on assignments. Hell, I knew you no better than the neighbor's teenage boys. What you said really did hurt me, but only because of how true it was.”

“Still doesn't excuse it.” Shepard sniffed. The two looked everywhere else but one another. Those few sentences were more than they shared in over a decade beyond the odd address update or “I'm not dead” after a tough unit action. Half of those even had Maggie as the go between. Unsure what else he could possibly say, he decided to quickly change the subject. “My staff says Alliance and C-Sec are on the security breach. If you haven't already been told or had it happen, C-Sec's cyber nerds might try to get a hold of you. My spectre credentials drug them into it.”

“Oh yeah. The captain and brass are not happy about the breach. Nor are they happy to have to work with the citadel and exchange information about it. Our security protocols are not something they just want to pass to the aliens.” She rolled her eyes.

“I can't blame them. Although the breach got through the spectre part of my identity and com security, so I imagine they're also not happy to air their mistake to the Alliance. Either way, once they figure out who sent it, we'll take them out.”

Hannah let out a grunt at that. 

“Well if there is anyone that can bludgeon the batarian bastards responsible, it would be you.”

“I'll hit them extra hard.”

The two returned to a silence again for a few moments. John saw a shadow behind his mother when she muted the com and spoke with the off screen person. When she keyed the com back to John she gave him a sad smile.

“Unfortunately duty doesn't care what personal tragedy we face. I have to take off. You keep doing us proud out there and kick that bird's ass for us, you hear?” She gave him a look that was both stern mother and drill instructor.

“Yes ma'am.” He nodded and got a stiff smile in return.

“Okay. Thank you for calling. I really mean it. Give me another ring some time when you can, and check in with Maggie. She'd appreciate it.”

“Will do, mom. Stay safe.” 

The dark haired woman nodded and cut the feed.

Shepard sighed and relaxed from the parade rest stance he had subconsciously put himself in. 

Well that had gone smoother than he had expected.

His hand throbbing with his heartbeat brought Shepard back to reality.

Well. Time to face even more music.

*****

Shepard has just finished explaining to Garrus that someone like Dr. Saleon needed to face court so that his victims and others could see that those type of people can't get away with their crimes. Of course instead of surrendering, Saleon had a change of mind and went for a gun. Now he lay on the deck of his house of horrors filled with rounds from Garrus, Liara and Shepard.

“So much for court.” Garrus said with satisfaction as he clipped his pistol back on his waist and threw Shepard a smug look.

Shepard was left a sour taste in his mouth as he secured the ship for the authorities. He never wanted to cross the line into extrajudicial punishments, playing judge, jury and executioner. Shooting the evil salarian was perfectly justified of course, since he went for a firearm, but his point to Garrus had fallen flat. 

Maybe he was being naive. Nothing was black and white. 

*****  
Shepard finished his report to C-Sec so they could close to Saleon case. Setting the datapad down, he decided to go see what Garrus thought about the whole thing. Shepard hadn't talked to the torin on the ride back, and Garrus hadn't pushed it either.

When Shepard approached Garrus at the mako, the turian turned and addressed him first.

“Shepard, thank you for your help with that. Feels good to put to rest an old case, and bring that bastard down.” Garrus said with conviction. His gaze faltered as he regarded the human's melancholy mood.

“Yeah, of course, Garrus. Happy to help.” Shepard tried for a confident smile.

“You don't look happy, Shepard. Something's on your mind? If it is about what happened on the ship, it was a good shoot. You were right about bringing him in, but sometimes in this line of work the suspects don't let us have that decision.” Garrus’ tone was warm and not at all condescending. 

Damn him and his insight.

“Yeah, I know.” John's face moved as if he chewed on some unseen object. “You're right too. People like that don't need a chance to escape and keep hurting others. I'm just not sure where the line crosses from doing good work taking out the evil, to slowly losing a bit of your soul.”

“I think that's for each individual to decide commander. What works for you is different from what works for me or some other spectre.” Garrus crossed his arms.

Shepard shook his head. 

“Either way. This moral debate and dilemma won't be solved in the cargo bay. Need help with repairs?” Shepard offered.

The mako still looked like shit after the last thresher maw. He wondered what percentage of it was omni-gel this time.

“It's about time you assisted us down here with repairing the toys you keep breaking.” Garrus laughed a low throaty chuckle that Shepard enjoyed more and more. “Let me see what we can get started.”

After some time the two worked together in an efficient buzz of activity. They passed tools back and forth, the proper parts, assisted lifting or breaking off larger pieces, and all together fell into a rhythm. Both worked silently for some time.

“You know what gets me a bit?” John finally broke the silence.

“Hm?” Garrus gave as an indication he was listening.

“Humanity is still young enough in the galaxy that our pre-contact and pre-space travel views are still very apparent in history. We humans always looked to the stars as this big wonderful unknown full of beauty and potential. In the past it was a place that gods dwelt, a place that told us our future and past, something that controlled our fate, and then scientifically some of the greatest mysteries. We found Prothean tech on Mars that launched us into deep space centuries before we would be on our own. We knew other sapient life existed, somewhere at some point. Now we're out here, and it's not that different than Earth.”

Garrus stopped and looked at Shepard like he was dumb. 

“What does that mean?” 

“Well it's obviously different.” Great speech Shepard. “I mean the trash. The muck. You go to any big city on Earth in any country, and no matter the culture, crime is the same. Injustice is the same. Racism is the same. Politics is the same. The Citadel, glittery jewel of the galaxy, has the same shit as any shithole district or big city of Earth. The asari with all their smugness and beauty and culture, the salarians with their haughty intelligence, and the turians with honor and pride-” a part John was prying loose from its wrecked housing popped free and sliced his hand. “Fuck! - all equally capable of evil and inflicting unthinkable pain and suffering on others. And don't even get me fucking started on the batarians.”

Garrus looked over with concern as Shepard grabbed a cloth and blotted the cut before applying medi-gel.

“And they all have the nerve to look down on humanity. They look at Earth and its overcrowding and bickering of countries, the crime, our seeming inability to protect our colonies that ALIENS can't seem to stop trying enslave and rape, and act like just because we're new to this galaxy we haven't earned a place in it.” Shepard continued his rant. Garrus at this point stopped his work and just watched the anger build in the smaller man. “Earned a place in what? We left our planet to explore a beautiful new frontier of possibilities, only to find that it's just as filled with scum, slavery, pain and evil as our own fucking shithole planet. We can't fucking FARM a garden world without slavers doing unspeakable things to our innocent colonists. And the council just sits there going 'tut tut’ like we're an infant that bopped its head falling over after being told not to play on the stairs. Then they fucking wonder why in such a short time we've built a massive fleet. It's totally because we want to steal the asari's music! It can't be because the galaxy is an evil place that seems to despise our existence. They've had how many thousands of years of 'enlightenment’? And here we are. A human spectre sent to fix the issues caused by a turian council spectre and a respected asari matriarch leading an army of geth, geth created by the quarians, because the protheans were wiped out by some doomsday race of other machines. 'Welcome to the galaxy. You haven't earned a place here. To do so, here's a mop. Now clean my shit off the floor because I can't be arsed to use the toilet and wipe my own ass.’”

Shepard groused a bit. 

Garrus watched partly alarmed, partly amused. After a moment to ensure Shepard was done ranting he spoke up.

“I think that bothers you more than a bit.” Garrus repressed a chuckle at the man's expense.

“Did your expansive C-Sec training clue you in on that?” Shepard bit back, before blanching a bit and back pedaling. “Sorry. I'm not angry at you. That wasn't fair.”

Garrus simply laughed at that and patted Shepard on the chest.

“It's fine.” He rumbled again in that way that sent a shiver up John's spine. “There's a lot on your plate, and none of its fair or right.”

“Thanks.” He sighed. “It just sucks. Lots of human history is just us sitting on a big gorgeous planet too busy killing each other and ruining it to appreciate it. Then when we leave our planet, we get to the galaxy and realize there's been aliens there for thousands of years, except they're too busy killing each other and ruining it to appreciate it. Ironic as fuck. I guess we just have to do our best as always. There are plenty of good people that deserve a chance at a good life.”

“Indeed.” Garrus rumbled again, giving shepard a lopsided grin from where he lay under the mako's center axle. “If it's any consolation, you do have a dashingly handsome turian here to help you mop up the shit. I'm not going anywhere.” He reached over and gave Shepard's chest another thump.

“Yeah. That definitely does help, Garrus.” Shepard had meant to say it jokingly, but it came out very sincere. He blushed furiously and scuttled further under the mako where he had been disassembling the motor housing on the rear axle.

Garrus simply gave him that understanding rumble again.

*****

“Commander, call for you.” Joker's voice came over the intercom.

“I'll take it in the briefing room.” He shouted back from under the mako. Looking to Garrus next to him he smiled. “Let's hope it isn't the council. I'm a mess. Actually it would irritate them to see me like this. Let's hope it is.” 

“It's a family call, commander. If they're as crazy as you, you can hang up on them yourself. Admiral Hackett, the Shadow Broker and the Council I'll happily do it to. Not the people that unleashed you.” Joker said with a serious tone.

“Your loyalty is noted, flight lieutenant.”

Garrus chuckled as Shepard rolled himself out from under the tank. 

“Shout if you need any backup.” 

“Will do!” Shepard smiled at the turian. Wiping his hands off with an industrial cleaning wipe, he picked his way through the piles of mako everywhere. He grabbed one more wipe and went up to the briefing room. 

He connected the call and was greeted by his older sister.

“Hey, glow stick.” She smiled, and laughed at his appearance. Her smart, stylish and very very expensive suit, perfect amount of makeup, and expertly curled hair was a stark contrast to his dirty fatigues and smudged face. “I see nothing has changed much. Find a Cortina to play in?”

Shepard chuckled. His sister was the only one who really picked up some of their father's thick Irish accent and still had it. She had spent more time in the family homeland though, and Shepard lost most of his in the decade plus of Alliance service.

“I upgraded. No more replacing oil pans I wrecked on rocky roads. Now I'm replacing power cells and axles on a tank dissolved by thresher maw acid.” 

Shepard was smugly satisfied by how much that threw Maggie off balance. He'd take the edge over his older sister while he could. 

“Well while you're off roughhousing with your Alliance frat bros, we've got some stuff to talk about.” Her demeanor turned a bit darker. “That message really rattled us. I'm glad you made the effort to call mom. It means a lot to her.”

“It's a start. It's going to take a lot more than one or two phone calls to fix the shit I caused with her, or you and Antoine.”

“Like you said, it's a start, and I'm proud of you little bro.” She smiled in a motherly way. “I wanted to see how you were holding up. I know you have a lot going on right now. Yes big understatement.” She acknowledged his scoff.

“I'm doing okay. It makes me more angry than anything. I can handle it.” Shepard wasn't sure why he felt the need to justify himself to his older sister. 

“I know. Still. Just wanted to check in. If you're on the Citadel in the next few weeks, we should have lunch. I'm here on business. It'll be nice to catch up in person. I hate vid calls for stuff like this.”

“Me too. And really. I'm doing okay. I've got an important mission to keep me occupied, and good crew to help me out.” Shepard smiled.

“I'm glad. Never thought you'd be running off to fight comic book villains as a spectre.”

“Neither did I. Blame Anderson. He convinced me to sign another two years as his XO. I could be poking potentially dangerous animals with a stick.”

“Dr. John Shepard, zoologist extraordinaire.” She said in an announcers voice. “We could get you your own show.” She smiled.

“That would certainly be a thing.” He laughed.

“Then you could get yourself a nice assistant. Fall in love while studying mating rituals.” She laughed at his red face and irritation. “Oh come on. It's been ages since you've even mentioned someone.” 

“Do you really think on my ship, during this mission I'd be worried about that?” He blushed more and rubbed his neck. 

“Apparently.” Her eyes narrowed suspiciously. “You always were a shite liar.”

“Anyway. Thanks for calling.” He changed the subject.

“It's good to see you, John. Thanks for answering.” 

Thanks for dropping it. For now, as you've no undoubtedly filed it away. 

“Of course, Maggie. I gotta go. We'll see about lunch okay?”

“Let me know. Love ya.” She smiled warmly. 

“Of course. Love ya too.” He hung up the call.

Shepard let out the breath he didn't realize he was holding. He loved his sister, but he always felt scrutinized with her. It always seemed like she was studying him like one of the defendants she was trying to prosecute. As if she was waiting for a slip up, a lie, or a crack in the story.

Shepard shook his head as if to clear the webs out of it, and made his way out of the com room. He was surprised to see Garrus leaning up the bulkhead facing the doors, his arms folded and one leg slightly crossed over the other. Cocky bastard. Hot though.

“Figured you could use some back up.” Garrus chuckled. “You look like you just rolled out of an interrogation room.”

“Sister's a DA on Beckenstein. Not too far off the mark there, buddy.” He raised his eyebrows. “How's the mako?”

“Still spread out under everyone's foot where it was five minutes ago. The chief looks like she's about to shoot me if she trips over one more strut. Tali also said she would gladly help us, but then she got into a debate with your chief engineer about ways to improve the stealth system. They might be awhile.” He waived his three fingered hand. “Either way, I needed a food break and looks like you could too.”

“Definitely.” He smiled brightly as Garrus pushed himself off the bulkhead.

“My expansive C-Sec training can get credit for that one.” He gave Shepard a cocky grin.

“Or the pack of wolves clawing their way out of my stomach.”

“That too. Whatever those are.” 

Shepard laughed loudly at that. He stopped at the top of the stairs to the crew deck while Garrus caught up. He loved the way look of Garrus’ blue marking made his eyes pop. He had gorgeous eyes. While he wasn't fully used to turian facial expressions, John could watch Garrus’ mandibles and facial plates express themselves all day. That would be rude of course. 

Garrus was next to Shepard in just a few long strides. 

“Isn't it ladies first in human culture?” He said, keeping his face neutral as he gestured to the open door they stood by.

“That joke's been old and dumb for centuries, Garrus.” John laughed anyway though.

He playfully bumped his shoulder and hip against Garrus’ as he passed then went down the stairs taking them quickly. Garrus stared after him in a bit of surprise before moving to catch up.

The two each grabbed a ration meal and heated them up before taking a seat at the galley table where Liara had already finished up a meal.

“Hello, Liara. How are you?” 

“Better, commander. Thank you.” She said softly. “I am just reviewing some papers to see if there is any mention of odd things found at protheans dig sites. Anything to give us an insight into a conduit, or whatever Saren is after.”

“Sounds good. Let me know if you find anything useful, or even interesting. I've been meaning to ask you more about your work.” 

Liara turned toward him as if locking in on a target.

“I wasn't aware you were so interested in archeology. Have you studied any?”

“No. I have studied a lot of science though. I'd like to hear more about yours when you have time.” He smiled.

Garrus could've sworn he saw Liara swoon.

“Of course, commander. I'd love to.” She got up. “I have to go call an old dig site colleague but I'll let you know if anything comes up.” 

“Thank you, Liara.” 

“Of course!” She practically glowed as she hurried back to the lab.

Garrus nearly made a comment about her but Shepard spoke up first.

“Next time we're at the Citadel, I'm getting some better food.” Shepard winced and pulled some thin grey stick, a bone perhaps, from his mouth and wrapped it in a napkin. His wince turned to a full blown grimace of disgust then a gag and he spat the rest into another napkin and pushed his meal away.

“Gross, commander.” Ashley frowned as she sat down with her own tray where Liara had been.

“Don't blame me. Blame-” He grabbed the meal package and read it out loud. “Alliance Defense Logistics Agency, meal ration number forty seven. Meatloaf and assorted veggies.”

“That's one of the worst ones, sir.” Ashley rolled her eyes and took a bite of her food. “Better chow would be nice though.”

Garrus set down his cup of kava and reached over to grab the MRE package for his own study.

“Hm. The use of 'assorted’ is disconcerting.” Hs studied the package further, “'Warrior tested. Warrior approved’. The amount of complaining I hear about your ship food I really question the veracity of that statement.” 

Garrus regarded the two marines before taking a bite of his own meal, which looked like hard paté and some kind of tube plant to Shepard. 

“We all do.” Shepard settled for munching on one of the dry ration bars he ate in the field to fuel his biotics. He gestured with the bar to Garrus’ plate. “How's your food?”

“Good enough.” he said chewing. 

Shepard heard a crunch that did not seem like it should come from food of that texture. Garrus didn't appear to mind though. 

“You can be honest. Only you and Tali can tell me how the food is and she's more worried about sanitation. If it's bad, I can order what you want. Otherwise I can only say whether the human food tastes like varren cloaca butter or not.” Shepard stated matter of factly, grinning as Kaiden veered hard to port with his own tray to escape the conversation and Ashley gagged.

“Do I even want to know?” Garrus laughed.

“It's a thing!” He met the stares of the other two at the table, “It is! I heard an ad for it on Omega once. I have no idea what it is or used for and I don't want to know, but it is a thing.”

“That's revolting, Commander.” Ashley looked like she might not be able to continue her meal. 

Shepard laughed again. 

“So do you really think what you said down in the cargo bay, sir?” Ashley asked a bit quiet and serious. “That the aliens are just as shitty as we are and no better than us.”

“This is a much better conversation to come up here too.” Kaiden interrupted as he walked up a second time. He seemed to look around again.

“You can sit down LT. Unless you want to use my desk in my quarters or ask Chakwas to let you eat in her spotless med bay, you're kinda stuck with us.” Shepard told him with a small smile.

Kaiden flushed red and sat down with a thunk and seemed to try to avoid making eye contact with anyone. 

“I guess you heard all that.” Shepard said, rolling his jaw as he cleared the dry ration bar bits clear from his teeth and gums with his tongue.

“You project, sir. Even if you weren't nearly yelling we'd be able to hear you.”

“Well then. I did. Yes. But that was the cynical rant. We're no better than the other races, and they're no better than us.” He sighed and leaned toward the chief and propped his elbows on the galley table. “What I mean is that while we're a new member race to the Citadel, and we haven't been around as long, our dirty laundry stinks the same way their dirty laundry does. This galaxy is a dangerous place, and i can't blame the council races for being weary of our ambition and drive. They clawed their ways through their own wars and trials to build what they have. They're not going to risk trusting us just because we show up at the front door with a bottle of bubbly. Is it fair the way we're being treated? No. But whether we like it or not, they own the citadel and they have been around much longer than we have. Our colonies are going to be hit. We're fresh, we're untested. The pirates and slavers want to take advantage of that. We have to earn our place through blood and grit. They need to see that we can hold our own and not be a liability. The politics and politicians suck, but so does the galaxy. They're waiting to see if we're gonna sink or swim.”

“I just see how that makes any sense though. That kind of mentality is what is causing the isolationist movements.” Ashley stated.

“Yeah. You have that right, and I honestly can't say I really blame them. I don't tolerate racism or any of that bull, but I can understand not wanting to be a part of the galactic community. But that kind of thought isn't sustainable. Like it or not, we're a part of a massive galaxy that can easily wipe us aside and move on without us. If we want to be a part of it, we have to show we can offer something valuable, work together, and not be a deadweight relying on the other races. Yes, Saren is turian and a former council spectre. While he attacked humanity, this problem is going to grow beyond that, and a human spectre going after him is no different than an asari spectre breaking up a slaver ring targeting salarians. Doing good is doing good. All the races have good and bad people. We have to fight for the good ones.” Shepard realized he had talked too much. “I'm going to get off my soap box now.”

“I see your point.” Ashley had long since stopped eating. “I think I’m gonna go finish up my duties. Thanks for talking, sir.”

“Anytime. And I apologize for my outburst. It was unprofessional. Thank you for asking about it though instead of just assuming.” He smiled at the chief.

“Of course. Have a good day, sir.” She got up and turned back to nod. “Garrus.” 

“Chief.” He smiled at her before turning to Shepard. “What's a soap box and why would you be on it?”

Shepard let out a surprised laugh at that. The simple question brought the terrible silence and heaviness down in one go.

“What's so funny?” Kaiden asked innocently, pulling a headphone out of his ear.

“Nothing, Kaiden. Go back to ignoring us.” He chuckled. Kaiden shrugged and did just that. “It's a human expression that means you're getting down off a high place after giving a speech of some sort. Not sure on the origin though.”

“I'll look it up.” The torin waved off the commander as he got up and cleaned up his part of the table. “Back to the mako?”

“Yes! Please. And do often look up human stuff?” Shepard asked, dumping his number forty seven in the garbage.

“Some stuff.” Garrus answered sheepishly.

Shepard just smiled warmly at the torin and changed the subject.

“Lets get the mako finished so we can give everyone back their cargo bay.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading!


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I want to thank Miz Directed for her amazing turian vocabulary and culture references she has created. If you haven't already checked out her amazing work, I definitely suggest doing so.
> 
> I sincerely hope you enjoy reading this as much as I have writing it. Thank you for stopping by!
> 
> Torin -- Torini plural. Male turian of the age of majority (15)
> 
> Tarc -- Vulgar expletive equivalent to shit.
> 
> Acuta Eus: a chip made from a combination of grains and spices. Turian doritos.
> 
> Puala Fruit & Nectar -- Puala are a large, bright yellow fruit with a rubbery peel and a core of soft, edible seeds. It’s meat is slightly fibrous, like a peach but with longer fibers. Taste is tart with an almost flowery nature. Puala nectar has a thick, pulpy texture. Both the fruit and its juice smell repugnant to humans.

Shepard rolled his eyes at the announcement of his departing the Normandy. It had gotten annoying very quickly. On a cruiser or dreadnaught it might be useful, but the Normandy had a few dozen people at its full complement. You couldn't sneeze without everyone knowing inside an hour. 

The commander wasn’t thrilled at stopping by the Citadel again but the Normandy needed to top off it’s spare parts and other supplies. The only thing keeping her from a couple days in drydock for routine maintenance was the urgency of their next mission and promise of on-the-go repairs. It did give him ample time to run some much needed errands though. 

For the next few hours he made his way around the Presidium meeting with the people he had information for. He broke the bad news to the man looking for his brother’s lost freighter, dropped off the intel he had to Admiral Kahoku then swung down to Barla Von's office. 

Just outside the financial district Shepard spotted a high end dextro food shop a few blocks from Barla Von’s and decided to drop in. The turian shop keeper looked up from his console and studied the human for a second before greeting him.

“Welcome to Cipritine Cuisine. I’m Jax. We sell the finest dextro only food. How may I help you, sir?” He gave Shepard a polite turian smile.

Shepard smiled back, noting the graceful way he was basically told he didn’t belong there.

“Thank you. I actually need to pick up some provisions for my ship. I have a turian and quarian on board. While the human food isn’t great, I can’t imagine their rations are much better. I would have no idea where to start though.” He smiled politely back at the mildly surprised turian. 

“Ah. Of course! We do offer several basic provision packages for ships. All are higher end but still tailored to long shelf life aboard a ship. We do guarantee their freshness and sanitation as well.” The brown plated torin in a burgundy suit rounded the counter and pulled up the display on the console. “Anything specific you had in mind?” 

“Like I said, not a clue.” He shrugged. “I guess I would want a good variety just in case, but not too much that will go to waste. As long as it’s a few steps up rom military rations.”

Jax nodded, hummed in thought and keyed up a few selections.

“They are several flights of steps better. These are our best packages. A good variety but not too large. The entrees and sides are broken down by which meal of the day it is and are individually packaged. Meals can easily be prepared but with greater variety. If your turian and quarian crewmembers don’t like something, they simply need not open it.” He hummed in satisfaction as Shepard read over them. “Down the road if there is something not used or liked, we can swap that item out for something else on your next order.”

“Sure. This one looks good, I guess.” He pointed to one. “Also I need a drink package, maybe this one. Garrus like puala nectar. Include a couple bottles of good turian brandy.” 

“Of course, sir.” He hummed happily again as he totaled the transaction. 

Shepard didn’t blink at the large fee and happily paid for it and arranged transport to the ship.

“Thank you, Jax. I’ll be sure to come back to you if I need anything else. Hopefully next time I’ll know a bit more of what I need.”

“Happy to help. You are welcome back anytime.” The torin nodded politely.

Shepard left the store and noted he had just enough time to get to the ship before he wanted to leave for the Feros run.

 

*****

 

“Thirty minutes out from feros, commander. We have geth activity and no communications from the colony so far. Ground team is suiting up.” Joker informed Shepard.

“Thank you. I'll meet them at the airlock.”

After suiting up Shepard made his way to the airlock where Tali was already waiting.

“Where's Garrus at?” He asked her.

She gave a non committal shrug and crossed her arms.

“Fiddling with his sniper rifle. I believe he was putting it back together after modding it.”

At that moment Garrus walked up through the CIC with something tucked under one arm.

“I would've been here sooner but I saw you forgot this.” He held out Shepard's helmet. 

“I didn't forget. I just don't like wearing it. Restricts my vision and it throws off my aim for my biotics. Thank you though.” He smiled at the torin but didn't reach for it.

“Well, if you don't mind me saying so, I think you should wear it. You don't have the best luck with your head.” Garrus held out the helmet.

Shepard still didn't take it.

“I have barriers. I'm not wearing my helmet.” Shepard was starting to get a little irritated.

At this point Tali was watching the stare down with Garrus intently and Joker was very interested in some reading on his console.

“On Therum a rock gave you a concussion that had you pass out during sparring. Noveria an asari commando in the labs knocked you upside the head with a computer terminal. On-”

“Fine.” Shepard swiped the helmet from Garrus and tucked it under his arm. He almost didn't catch the snort from the cockpit.

“ETA, flight lieutenant?” Shepard asked trying not to grit his teeth, turning his attention to Joker and away from the turian.

****

Shepard stood in the comm room for a few seconds to catch his breath and pull at the tangled strings in his mind. Three annoying councilors, two asari mind melds, one flared up amp…

And a partridge in a pear tree…

Shepard's head certainly did kill him. Stepping out of the comm room he saw Garrus leaning up against the bulkhead again. His headache throbbed even harder.

“You look like crap.” Garrus’ mandibles twitched in humor.

Shepard shot the turian a glare.

“Don't say it.” He pushed passed the much taller torin.

“I wasn't going to.” Garrus responded matter of factly. 

“You don't need to. I should thank you but I'm still annoyed you had to go and do that in front of Joker of all people. He doesn't forget a thing. I'll hear about it three years from now when *I've* forgotten about it.” He stopped at the top of the stairwell.

“Okay. I'm not apologizing though. You'd be dead if not for your helmet. Even your barriers aren't enough to hold off a krogan charge and his shotgun.” Garrus kept his voice steady and reasonable, which annoyed Shepard even more for some reason he couldn't place, as did the crossed arms and cocky pose Garrus seemed to take up.

With no good answer for the torin, Shepard just glared. 

Garrus stared back.

The door hissed open and Pressley stared at both men.

Shepard raised his eyebrows expectantly at the lieutenant and waved him through as if impatient. 

“Sir.” The XO gave a hasty salute and squeezed awkwardly passed the stare off.

Both men watched him leave before resuming their stare off.

Garrus acquiesced first.

“Fine. I could have handled it better. I just thought that it would be in all our best interest if you didn't damage your brain any further.” Garrus did that weird turian shrug that made his head wobble like a bobble head.

“I'm going to go eat.” Shepard turned and walked down the stairs to the galley. He had no decent rebuttal.

“I was surprised to find quality dextro food in the galley earlier.” Garrus kept his tone neutral and subvocals tight.

“Yeah. Funny how the ship's CO gives a shit about his people.” Shepard said.

“I'll have to find the time to thank him.” Garrus turned to the elevator.

Shepard didn't respond. Instead he busied himself with making bowl of cereal and catching up with Kaiden.

*****

After dinner Shepard retired to his quarters to catch up on reports. Pressly did an admirable job as the ships XO and had taken over much of Shepard's CO workload while he ran ground missions. Still, Shepard couldn't shirk his duties and gave the man the evening off. Now he found himself sitting on his bunk reading reports and signing paperwork. After this mission he was recommending the navigator for a well deserved promotion.

Shepard was attempting to read a report from Adams and Tali about improvements to the stealth system when he heard a knock on the door.

“Come in.” He didn't look up from the report when Garrus crossed the doorway and it closed behind him.

“Little late to be up and about.” Shepard observed.

“I could say the same to you. Couldn't sleep. Saw you grabbing a drink earlier and thought I'd stop by.” He paused near the foot of the bunk. “And apologize.”

“Garrus, you're fine.” He gave the turian a tired smile. “It's been a long few weeks and I was already in a shit mood. That little spat on the bridge was just icing on the cake. I should however thank you for saving my ass.”

“Somebody has to check it out, I mean ‘check on it’.” He grinned doing the air quotes with his two outer fingers on his right hand.

“Please, I don't think I can stomach being air quoted by a turian. Sparatus ruined that.” He laughed.

Garrus smiled and produced a pair of bottles with his left hand.

“Nightcap?” he struck up his cocky pose again.

“Sure. Have a seat.” He swept all the datapads onto the floor and scootched over. “I'll pass on the gin though. I can survive off my tea.” 

“Sure? After today…” he sat on the edge of the bunk and opened one of the bottles of turian brandy Shepard had bought earlier.

“I don't drink, Garrus.” He bent over and reached under the bunk and pulled out a hardy metal box. After shuffling around inside he passed a coin to Garrus. “Six years now, but thats from my three year stint operating out of Arcturus.”

Garrus studied the coin. It was black and gold with a Roman Numeral three on it and it had the words “Unity. Service. Recovery.” on it. On the flip side it said “to thine own self be true.” Garrus looked at Shepard blankly.

“That means I've been sober for at least three years. I'm an alcoholic, Garrus. I don't drink anymore.” he regarded the turian who seemed to deflate and look guiltily at his brandy.

“I'm sorry. I feel incredibly stupid right now.” His bright blue eyes only conveyed sorrow at himself, no judgement or pity to the human.

“You had no way of knowing. Before you Anderson was the only one on the ship who knew.” He gave Garrus a small smile. He could get lost in those eyes if he wasn't careful. “Don't stop enjoying your drink on my account.”

He gestured at the brandy with the coin he took back from Garrus.

“Thank you for trusting me. Your privacy is safe with me.” He nodded. Shepard grinned at that and felt his face flush at the look Garrus was giving him along with his deep rumble.

“Well, before you offered a much welcome reprieve I was hard at work. Mind helping me make sense of Tali and Adam's report? I'm no engineer. It's somewhere on the floor.” He put the coin back in the lock box and stared at the pile of datapads on the floor like it was crawling with maggots. 

“Not a great move.” Garrus chuckled.

“Not my best idea.” He finally bent over and picked up the one he needed. “This is in gibberish. I'd ask for clarity but I feel like I'd just glaze over. I'd rather feel dumb with a datapad than my chief engineer.”

“We all have our strengths. Yours just happens to be burning through twenty thousand calories a day.” He hummed again as Shepard scootched back over to the torin, nearly brushing legs.

“That's just a side effect of my mom getting knocked up while on shore leave then getting exposed to eezo as an engineer on a carrier soon after.” He said without any malice. “My science is more natural. Biology and zoology specifically.”

“Anatomy?” Garrus chuckled.

“Ha! Is that supposed to be a pick up line?” He grinned at the torin.

“Not at all.” He grinned at Shepard and waggled a brow plate.

“Okay okay. Seriously though. I'm not sure what language this report is in, but thankfully they left out Tali's excited squeals.” He turned the datapad on and passed it over to Garrus.

Garrus took the datapad and studied it for several long minutes. Shepard studied Garrus. He hadn't had much exposure to turians growing up. The colonies and space stations he lived on with his parents were Alliance and primarily human. Turians especially were foreign, ridged and harsh. As a child he'd probably be terrified of a big grey plated torin in armor. Now Shepard could appreciate his grace and beauty. Garrus’ familia notas, clan markings, swept across his face in blue streaks that only accentuated the hard curves of his facial plates. The color only stood to bring out those gorgeous blue eyes. Eyes that were now staring back and studying John in equal measure. His breath hitched for a moment and he became acutely aware of the torin's warm smell. The charge in the room gave John goosebumps.

“I'm not sure I can make much of this myself.” Garrus said quietly, almost bashful.

“Damn. Guess I'll have to go ask in person.” He laughed a little too loud and rubbed the back of his neck as he blushed.

“Good luck.” He broke a grin at John before waiving the datapad at its brethren on the floor. “I've got plenty of brandy if you need help with the rest. I know you loathe paperwork as much as I do, but I've had a nice break from it thanks to you.”

“Sure. Let me top off my tea.” Shepard slid off the edge of the bunk to his feet. “Want anything from the galley?”

“Sure. Some of the Acuta Eus. Green bag is my favorite.” 

Shepard nodded and went on his fetch quest. As his tea steeped and his popcorn popped he searched through the cabinets. After a minute he found the box of dextro snacks and produced two of the small bags of crisps. Shepard stood and turned with his tea and snacks and nearly had a heart attack.

“Jesus, Joker.” He held his piping hot tea away from him as it dripped. “Warn a guy when you sneak up.”

“Sorry, commander. Just grabbing a midnight snack.” He glanced at the bags of turian crisps in Shepard’s left hand with the human popcorn.

“You're fine.” He ignored Joker's arched eyebrow and moved toward his quarters.

“Should I wake up Chakwas and let her know you're about to poison yourself?” 

Shepard took a deep breath and turned to the amused pilot.

“Go to bed, flight lieutenant. You need to be well rested for the double shift I may have accidentally scheduled you for.” He stared down the deflating man. 

“Roger roger.” He said robotically, rolling his eyes at the use of his full rank. “Got it, commander.” 

Shepard nodded at the final acknowledgement and entered his quarters without another word. He did not need to add fuel to the Joker fire.

Garrus looked up from one of the datapads and smiled at Shepard.

“Get lost, Shepard?” 

“No. Took a bit to find these but then of course I had to run into Joker. Made a point of spotting the dextro crisps.” He rolled his eyes again as he tossed the bags at Garrus.

“So now he's going to think you're bedding Tali?” Garrus smirked.

“Or you.” He shrugged and popped some popcorn in his mouth. He saw Garrus’ mild surprise. “What?” 

“Nothing. I just didn't realize you, what's the human term, swung that way.” He shrug bobbled in return.

“I can swing whatever way I want, Garrus. Now before I reveal anything else highly personal, how's the logistics report? You and tali covered on dextro food and medical supplies?” 

“Sure. We should be good for the rest of the mission. You topped off everything on our last stop.” He smiled at Shepard warmly before turning his attention back to the much less interesting supply estimates.

After about an hour Shepard found himself reading the same sentence over and over from a departmental report. 

“I think I need to call it a night. I can't read another word.” Shepard cracked his neck and let out a big yawn.

Apparently they were contagious for turians too as Garrus yawned as well. His mandibles flared wide, eyes scrunched up, and mouth opened wide to reveal a large array of very sharp teeth. 

“What?” Garrus asked the amused looking commander.

“Never seen a turian yawn.” He chuckled. “Sorry. I'm being rude.”

“I've yawned before. I can't imagine you NEVER seeing it.” Garrus looked at Shepard like he was crazy.

“Maybe I just never bothered to notice before.” He smiled at his friend. “I think we both need to get some sleep. We'll be coming up on Virmire tomorrow night.”

“Yeah. Right into the lair of the beast.” Garrus shook his head.

“Pretty much.” He stood up from the bunk and popped his back. “Thanks for the help today, and forcing me to wear a helmet, and everything else. You're a really good friend, Garrus.”

“Of course.” He smiled brightly at Shepard. “You're a good commander and friend. Happy to help.”

Shepard nodded.

“I need to sleep though. I think I'm bored enough I'll actually be able to. Don't let the door close on ya.”

Garrus chuffed at that.

“Alright, alright. Kick me to the street.” He gave Shepard a small smile. “Goodnight, Shepard.” 

“Goodnight, Garrus.” He smiled tiredly.

Garrus walked out of Shepard's quarters way later than he intended. Thankfully it was third shift and the deck should be abandoned. Of course Garrus heard some omni tool game plinking away at the mess table. Joker was looking right at him with an unreadable expression. 

Tarc.

Garrus politely nodded and proceeded to ignore the human as he threw away his trash and put the rest of the brandy away. He didn't acknowledge the man when he went to his own bunk.

*****

“We're eight hours out from Virmire, Commander.” Joker said over his shoulder.

“Alright. If you need to rest up before we drop in go ahead. I want everyone at their best.” Shepard patted the chair near Joker's shoulder.

“Of course. Can't all be staying up late at night for sleepovers.” He said smirking.

Shepard just shook his head and walked away. He was not playing into that nonsense. Shepard figured he would get some more sleep and eat an extra meal. Something in his gut told him Virmire was going to get nasty.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologize for how long this had taken for me to publish. The overall story arch has been coming together in pieces as scenes and ways of writing materialize. I have quite a few chapters written but I try not to publish them until I'm happy with how they are. I want y'all to enjoy these stories and I really hope you do! Thanks for reading!

Garrus hadn’t seen much of Shepard after Virmire. The situation was grim and they all felt helpless, especially after speaking to Sovereign and having the truth revealed. Shepard had taken the loss of Kaiden and Bakari hard and it seemed to stick with him longer than Garrus would’ve expected. They had rescued Ashley and the STG survivors but Kaiden and the other marine were overwhelmed by geth and died when the improvised nuclear bomb had gone off. Even Saren had managed to escape after a brief exchange of gunfire and words. Garrus had been impressed with how well Shepard had talked the traitor down after planting doubt in his mind, but unfortunately Saren had taken off when the bomb was near detonation and escaped. 

After all that sacrifice they returned to the Citadel only to have the council and Alliance lock down Normandy and Shepard’s command codes. With its engines shut down cold, most systems powered off and the crew on shore leave it left him with a sinking and erie feeling in the silent frigate. The feeling was only magnified by his anger and hatred for the Council and Alliance bureaucrats that snubbed their nose at all the evidence before them and betrayed the commander. 

Garrus walked the crew deck lost in thought when he heard what sounded like a cough or sigh. Following the source he saw Shepard sitting on the deck with his back against his locker and his head hung between his knees.

“Commander.” Garrus kept a respectful amount of distance. “How can I help?”

“I don’t think you can, Garrus.” Shepard looked up at him with watery eyes. “The Normandy is locked down, Saren is still loose with Sovereign, and I can’t do a damn thing. There is nothing to be done.”

“Bullshit.” Garrus stepped closer to the surprised looking commander. “There always is something to be done, and if anyone can figure it out, it’s you.”

“Garrus, unless you can hack Citadel docking clamps there isn’t anything. To chase after Saren we NEED the Normandy and her stealth systems.” Shepard deflated a bit again.

“Commander, we can figure something out. We always do.” He held out his hand.

Shepard grabbed it and let Garrus help him up off the floor. Garrus stepped a bit closer.

“The Shepard I know is smart, clever, and doesn’t give a damn about the rules when they get in the way of doing what is right. We can go save the galaxy now and worry about courts martials later, or we can let Saren get away and life as we know it end.” He took a deep breath and looked down at the shorter man. “You’re not the type to sit and accept defeat.”

“I don’t know what to do, Garrus.” He felt the torin’s heat, or maybe it was just his own flushing at the look he was getting. 

“Like I said. We’ll figure it out.” He reached up and put his hand on Shepard’s shoulder. “I’m not going anywhere.”

John’s heart raced as he felt somewhat cornered against his locker by the much taller turian. There was a bit of that primal fear but it wasn’t from fear of Garrus, it was fear of something new and different. His feelings for Garrus that had been repressed for MANY reasons threatened to bubble to the surface in the form of a heated sensation in his chest and throat.

“Garrus, I-” 

“Commander.” Joker’s voice interrupted the breaking of the dam. “I’ve got a message from Captain Anderson.”

Much to Shepard’s disappointment but also a surprising amount of relief, Garrus disengaged his hand and took a couple steps back.

“What did he want?” Shepard asked.

“Only said to meet him at the club in the Wards. Flux.”

“Understood.”

Shepard smiled at Garrus who had an unreadable expression on his face.

“Looks like we may be getting some help.” Shepard smiled hopefully and began to make his way to the airlock.

Garrus chuffed at that.

“Right behind you, Shepard.” 

Garrus turned to follow but the feeling of something unsaid lingered in the back of his mind.

*****

Garrus watched with amazement as the machination that was once Saren fizzled and turned to ssh on the floor of the ruined council chambers. Shepard had somehow convinced Saren of his errors and he had resorted to taking his own life. Only Sovereigns direct control caused the abomination to come to life and fight back. It wasn’t enough though since Shepard was now at the console entering the command sequence to drop the jamming field, open comms, and open the Citadel’s arms. 

Shepard’s conviction never wavered even when Garrus didn’t believe the Council was worth the human lives it would take to save it. At the commander’s word the Alliance swept the geth aside at the loss of several ships and dove deeper into the fray straight for Sovereign.

Sovereign put up a fight but was overwhelmed by the Alliance fleet and soon detonated near the tower. Shepard ordered Garrus and Liara to take cover as chunk of Sovereign slammed into the tower with a deafening roar of noise. A chunk of debris struck his head and left him dazed as Liara fell next to him. 

Garrus wasn’t sure how much time passed when Captain Anderson and a couple of C-Sec officers and medics made their way through the ruined chambers to them. At first he and Liara thought Shepard may have been crushed by the debris but Shepard climbed his way over the hunk of dead reaper. Garrus could only stare in wonder as the wounded man gave the group a cocky smile.

*****

Garrus dreaded this day. Shepard and Garrus stood outside the Normandy’s airlock on the Citadel and stared at one another for a few moments.

“I can’t say I won’t miss you.” Shepard gave the torin a smile of false bravado.

“Is that it?” Garrus joked. “I follow you to hell and back, help you fight rachni, defeat Saren’s krogan army, take out a station full of geth, get a reaper dropped on me, and last but not least, rebuild the mako several times over thanks to your bad driving, and this is how I get thanked?”

Shepard laughed but cut it off quick before it popped the bubble of sadness building in his throat. He cleared his throat.

“I am gonna miss you, Garrus. It was an honor, and a lot of fun to have you on board. I owe you big time.” 

“Hmm. Now I’m regretting not recording this, I won’t have proof when I come knocking for that favor.” He smiled and rumbled at Shepard. “Next time you’re on the station you can buy me a drink.”

Shepard smiled warmly at that. He was going to miss the big guy and his purring.

“It’s a date.” He blushed at the raised eyebrow plate that earned from the torin. “Take care of yourself, Garrus. If I hear you've gotten yourself shot on the job I'm going to be pretty pissed.”

“I will, and I'll keep that in mind.” He nodded back and shouldered his duffle bag. “You stay safe too.”

At that Garus turned toward the elevator that led down into his next stop: The C-Sec Academy. Before he could step aboard though Shepard had walked back out of the Normandy’s airlock. Garrus turned to make a remark but suddenly found the Commander’s arms wrapped around him in a warm hug. 

Shepard immediately felt a sense of regret when his friend went more rigid than a steel plate. He quickly disengaged and retreated back to the Normandy.

“I’ll see ya later.” He waived over his shoulder.

Garrus immediately felt terrible that his inaction seemed to have caused Shepard to misread his response as negative. It was simply surprise. Turians didn't really hug in the conventional sense. Still unable to find his voice or a working brain cell, he stepped into the elevator and watched the Normandy disappear as he descended into the Citadel. A small keen of sorrow slipped out of him.

*****

Shepard stepped back into the Normandy robotically. His mind spun with unsaid words, unfulfilled emotions, and a deep sadness at the emptiness of the ship with Garrus gone. He had nearly taken the chance to ask him out and maybe delay their departure by a few hours. Part of him regretted not doing that but the other part realized it wouldn’t work. His business as a Spectre was going to take up a lot of time and Garrus needed time to settle back onto the Citadel. A relationship didn’t fit there. Plus he had no idea if Garrus even felt the same way and he did not want to ruin his friendship with the torin.

“Earth to Shepard, you read me?”

Shepard snapped back into reality and found himself standing in the passageway behind the cockpit. He had been standing still long enough to draw the attention of both Joker and Negulesco in the two seats as they ran take off protocols.

“Sorry. What?” 

“I said we’re clear to take off, Commander. At your order.” Joker stared back at his CO with a solid poker face. Negulesco had gone back to studying the readings on her station and trying to make herself as hidden as possible it seemed. 

He glanced between the pilot and the red headed sensor officer before his brain gave him a response. 

“Yeah. Get us out of here. Set a course for wherever our first geth holdout is.”

“Roger that. Setting course for the Wherever System.” Despite his mild sarcasm Joker followed the order swiftly.

Shepard watched through the small viewports as the ship rocked a bit from the docking clamps releasing and the ship silently pulled away from the Citadel. 

“I think the ship feels a little lighter without Garrus, Tali and Wrex on board.” Joker said mildly. “Now who’s going to fix the mako?”

Shepard didn’t answer and instead made his way to his quarters. The ship certainly did feel much lighter.

*****

Shepard stared at his console at the message he had written and was about to send to Garrus. He hadn’t been able to return to The Citadel for months and desperately wanted to see the torin. Adams had found an issue with the heat shielding on the hull and mentioned it needed repairs if they were going to do more atmospheric entries for mako drops. It would be fine for a few more drops, but Shepard had seen it as an excuse to return to Alliance docks on The Citadel after this last run. The message to Garrus stared back at him in unwavering orange until it delted with a tap of his console. John decided with a smile that he would surprise his friend, maybe ask him out. Garrus was at C-Sec in his old precinct and wasn’t going anywhere in the next few days.

*****

Garrus sat at his desk in the bullpen of the main Zakera Ward precinct. His head was not quite in the game as he reviewed a series of case reports. A bunch of local shops kept getting armed at gunpoint and the MO was clearly that of the same gang or individual. As he read the report he realized that he just did not care. He easily could go out and find who was doing this but regulations, ops approvals, evidence chains, courts et cetera meant it would take him at least a week to get his hands on those responsible. Nobody had gotten physically hurt and all the stolen money and product was insured, so at the end of the day C-Sec cared enough to do something about it but not enough to do anything before more shops got hit. It was inevitable that one of these shop keepers would get fed up and put up some resistance, likely a biotic asari or armed turian, and someone would get hurt. Probably before the red tape cleared. 

It hadn't taken much to get back into C-Sec at his old rank since all of his qualifications and certifications were still up to date. However long it had felt it the moment, the reality was that he hadn't been gone for much time. His father likely had something to do with how quickly the red tape had cleared from his path.

Garrus stared at the report and realized just how much he missed the Normandy and Shepard. Over the last few months they had occasionally traded messages back and forth but had yet to meet up in person.

A buzz of energy and chatter broke him out of his thoughts.

“Hey, yo. Unmute it!” An officer called across the desks as he pointed up at a vid screen that displayed a breaking news report and two news anchors at a desk. 

“I’m trying. There!” Another called back.

“We’ll be turning to our reporter in the Human Embassy for more details.” The asari news anchor stated.

“Thank you, Anai’a. Reporting from the Human Embassy, I’m Emily Wong. The embassy is buzzing with unconfirmed news of a distress signal from an Alliance warship in the Omega Nebula. As our viewers may know, any ship that detects a distress signal is required by law to forward the call to the Citadel Control and render aid if it is reasonable and safe to do so. With military distress signals, civilian vessels are still required to forward them to Citadel Control and are told to steer clear for their safety. Why an Alliance vessel is that far in the Terminus Systems is unknown, but the Alliance is asking all non-Alliance or non-allied military vessels to stay away as they investigate.” 

“Is there any indication which vessel this may be from, Emily, or is it some kind of ruse by criminal elements?” The asari asked.

“It is unclear at this point, but that is a specula- wait. We’re receiving more news. One of the crew on a nearby freighter has a recording of the distress call and it’s being uploaded now.” Emily Wong said with a sense of excitement.

Garrus’ blood turned to ice as the recording began. 

“Mayday! Mayday! Mayday! This is SSV Normandy! We’ve suffered heavy damage from an unknown enemy!” Garrus could hear the desperation in Joker’s voice as well as ship alarms and explosions in the background when he paused.

“We have no other information at this time, but the message is on repeat. Our viewers may recognize the SSV Normandy as Commander Shepard’s vessel. Commander Shepard is the first human Spectre and was recently the one responsible for not only stopping Saren and the Geth, but giving the order to save the Council. Alliance authorities are stating that they are investigating the matter and advise all civilian ships to stay away.”

Garrus stood up from his desk and rushed to the bathroom as the officers in the precinct gathered around the vid screen. His mind raced in desperation, confusion, and helplessness. What attacked them? If it was the geth, Joker would say so, and in any search for the geth they’d have the stealth systems activated. So how did someone get the jump on the quiet, nimble ship? In the isolation and quiet he pulled up his omni-tool.

G: I’m so sorry about the Normandy. Let me know you are okay when you can. Spirits Shepard, please be okay.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I always wondered what it was like for Shepard to say goodbye to some of his squad mates, and how it was for them when they found out about the Normandy.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I want to start by apologizing for the long delay in getting this chapter out. I've had a lot of personal things going on that have taken far too much of my time up, and sapped my creative energy. Either way, I've done a lot of writing in the spare time I've had, but I haven't been satisfied with how I was starting the chapters set in Mass Effect 2. I enjoyed this chapter and I hope you do two. I assure you this story is still going strong, and I don't intend to stop.
> 
> Last but not least: Thank you to everyone who's had encouraging words and enjoyed my writing. I hope you continue to enjoy this little story and the adventures and shenanigans of Garrus and John. 
> 
> Enjoy!
> 
>  
> 
> Vitulus: Turian analogue to a violin. It has four strings and is generally larger than a violin. Its large hollow interior has several different hollow compartments instead of just one. It produces sounds somewhere between a cello and violin, though its range is generally considered to humans to be slightly less than a violin. To turians it has a complex sound, and is considered one of the oldest instruments to originate from Palaven. Masters of this instrument are highly regarded in Turian society, and sought after in orchestras and military bands as the skill required to play the instrument with only three talons is hard to obtain, and requires much time and focus to master.

 

 

Garrus felt unease seep into his bones as he began his work on the main gun of the Normandy SR2. The throbbing on his mandible and neck didn’t help either, but at least that was for a clear and concise reason. 

His interactions with Shepard had been awkward and tense, and while he was happy to have his friend back, and he had no doubt Shepard was Shepard, the circumstances of their meeting, Cerberus, and Garrus’ near death had placed a LOT of baggage on top of what was already a lot to process for the two. Garrus had felt a flair of anger earlier at how flippant Shepard treated their first few conversations. Garrus spent over two years mourning the loss of a dear friend and mentor, only to have him pop back into his life at another terrible moment. He couldn’t help but have a frustrated sense of humor at the fact that Shepard, who couldn’t help but overly involve himself in his friend’s lives, would come back at the time when Garrus had accepted death as punishment for the loss of his team. Of course he also realized that in Shepard's perception they hadn’t seen each other in just a few mere months. He hadn't been there for his big spirits-damned political memorial, the small funeral and wake at his ancestral home in Earth’s Ireland, or all the time his family, crew, and friends had spent mourning his death. At the end of the day, Garrus guessed he just needed time and he should be happy to have Shepard back. Though he did concede that he himself treated things casually, and both had danced around the issue with jokes at each others expense. It was a mess.

As if on cue, the door behind him hissed open. Garrus turned to greet Shepard but instead of his friend, he was staring at the tall, lithe, and tightly clothed Operative Lawson, the highest ranking Cerberus member on board the Normandy. A very light and airy perfume wafted in with her instead of the musky spice of the cologne Shepard had taken to wearing lately.

“Officer Vakarian.” She greeted simply, clasping her hands behind her back, not stepping into the battery. “I have the unfortunate problem of asking for your help before you get settled in.”

“Operative Lawson.” He greeted, controlling his subvocals and eyeing her suspiciously. 

“The Commander has shut himself in his quarters and I cannot reach him.” 

“Maybe he just wants privacy.” Garrus suggested, mildly irritated at her. The crew had always respected Shepard’s privacy on the SR1 and never bothered him when he needed it, unless it was an emergency. “Give him time.”

“Normally I’d respect his privacy.” She stated as though it was obvious. “He completely disabled EDI’s console in his quarters, locked down the elevator to his level and shut off all communications. I cannot even send him a message if it was urgent. I’m asking you to check on him, seeing as you’re his friend.” She stated.

For the first time he saw a bit of her demeanor crack. She really did find this awkward, but it seemed important to her. He wanted to tell her off and tell her to mind her own damn business. Just in case something was wrong he decided he should go check on him.

“I’ll check on him immediately.” He nodded.

“Thank you.” With that she about faced and walked out of the battery back to her office.

Garrus sighed and cracked his neck, mentally preparing himself for whatever came next. Within a few moments he was at the deck that housed Shepard’s cabin. The elevator wouldn't open but it only took Garrus a moment to hack the lock. He stepped out onto the deck and hit the button to alert Shepard someone was at his door. Nothing happened so he did it again. After several minutes and a few more tries Garrus gave up on that and hacked the door open as well. 

The door opened quietly and he was immediately met with music. It was strange music with an electronic beat and accompaniment but the melody of a string instrument dominated the music’s feel. It reminded Garrus of a vitulus, but higher pitched. He stepped inside the cabin and down a flight of small stairs he spotted Shepard.

Shepard was standing with his eyes closed with right side facing the door wearing only a pair of military shorts and a tank top. Propped under his chin and held in his left hand was a nearly white metal string instrument that had a hollow center. Shepard’s right hand held a long metal bow with a single string that he dragged across the others, creating the beautiful melody that danced perfectly with the electronic beats of the music. 

Garrus stood transfixed, unable and unwilling to interrupt. When the song came to an end, a few short minutes later, Garrus could only clear his throat to get Shepard’s attention. Shepard lowered the instrument and turned to the torin.

“I see Lawson sent the cavalry.” He gave a small smile and turned to sit on the edge of his bunk.

“Yes, she couldn’t get a hold of you and was worried.” He stood in his spot unmoving. 

Shepard merely scoffed.

“More like she’s worried she can’t keep a leash on me.” Shepard flopped back on his bunk and laid there.

“I’ll tell her you’re fine.” He stepped closer and stopped at the bottom of the stairwell. “Between us, are you okay?”

Shepard sighed and for awhile did not answer.

“No, Garrus. I’m really not.” He reached up and rubbed his eyes with the palms of his hands.

Garrus could hear a tightness in the man’s voice, one he learned that meant a human was trying to control sadness or grief, and on the verge of tears. Garrus sat on the edge of the bed next to Shepard.

“It’s a lot to handle.” Garrus simply replied. He’d let his friend steer the conversation.

“I woke up on a surgery bed to explosions and death around me. For a moment I thought I was still on the Normandy. Instead, I was on a Cerberus station that was destroying itself from the inside out. I’m blasting mechs and taking directions from someone I don’t know, all the while finding logs and data files saying I was supposed to be dead, but Cerberous paid exorbitant amounts of credits to bring me back. Then I meet the Illusive Man, he gives me a new version of my ship, and sends me to find out what's happening to a bunch of human colonies.” He sighed again. “I’ve been dead two and a half years Garrus. I don’t feel like I have, yet here is everyone having moved on. The galaxy, my crew, my friends, all off living their lives without me in it. I don’t know how to process that.”

“It sounds like you need time. You have an important mission to keep you busy, and I’m here to keep you grounded.” Garrus offered.

“Thank you.” 

The two sat quietly for a moment.

“I’m sorry.” Shepard said, surprising Garrus.

“For what?” Garrus asked, hiding his incredulity.

“For not being there for you, for everyone.” He sounded like he may cry again.

“Don’t you dare do that to yourself.” Garrus said, staring down at his friend with conviction. “You died. You really did die. You couldn’t help that, and you cannot blame yourself for us mourning you, or what happened to Joker, I, or anyone else.”

“I know, but I still feel bad about it.” 

“Spirits, John, stop blaming yourself for things out of your control!” he spat.

Garrus had always been irritated that John was so ready to take on everyone’s else’s issues and blame himself for not being able to fix everything, and it seemed even being dead didn’t stop that.

Shepard sat up and placed his face in his hands. Garrus thought at first he was just breathing deeply but quickly realized his friend was crying. Garrus wrapped and arm around John and pulled him close, purring and humming a comforting sound. Shepard cried into his hands and shook with silent sobbing.

"I thought I lost you." Shepard said at nearly a whisper.

"I got better. I'm not going anywhere." Garrus hummed.

The two stayed that way for several minutes. Shepard felt safe in the warmth of his best friend who was the one person he felt he could truly be open with. After awhile Shepard disengaged and sat up. His eyes were red and his nose stuffy, but he seemed a bit lighter.

“Thanks.” He wiped his eyes roughly. “I’m sorry I’m a mess. We’re about to get to the Citadel. I’ve gotta meet up with Capt- Counselor Anderson, give him an update and report. Then we gotta grab this Kasumi and go from there.”

“Stop apologizing.” Garrus said gently. “Back to business I see. Need me?”

“Always do, Garrus.” He smiled at his friend. “Let’s get suited up. I’ll need you and Mordin on this.”

“Mordin?” Garrus asked, a bit surprised. 

“I’m not walking into Anderson’s office with a Cerberus Operative. I doubt that’ll help me smooth things over.” He chuckled.

Garrus smiled too, and both didn’t move to get ready.

“I never knew you played an instrument.” He nodded at the white metal thing laying on the bed behind him.

“Yeah, my grandma taught my dad and me. That one is unfortunately electronic and goes directly to the speakers. Only one I could find on Omega. Pretty sure my wooden violin burned up with the Normandy.” He shrugged. “Along with a lot of other things.”

“Things can be replaced.” Garrus responded, biting down on the end of the old saying.

“And people can’t?” Shepard chuckled bitterly. “Fuck. What a shit show.”

“Hm. Well, I’m here, and you do tend to take me to the most scenic places. I couldn't miss out on that.” Garrus patted Shepard on the back.

“My travel itinerary for the next few weeks includes the Citadel, a prison ship, and a junkyard planet. Just for you.” He chuckled then paused and an odd look washed over his face. “You used my first name.”

Garrus balked at the realization that he did indeed

“It is your name.” He managed.

“Yeah, but I couldn’t even get a drunk Karen to use my first name. Nobody does.” 

“Does it bother you?” He asked carefully.

“Not at all. Not from you at least.” He smiled at the torin.

“Thanks, I guess.” Garrus grinned at his friend.

Shepard laughed at that.

“Let’s get suited up.”

*****

Shepard and his team left the counselor’s office after a long discussion and a surprise meeting with the council. 

“That went well.” Garrus stated. 

“Spectre status handy. Even if on an unofficial mission. Cuts through red tape.” Mordin agreed.

“I’ll take it.” Shepard shrugged. “I have some errands to run. You two are free to tag along or head back to the ship.” He told his companions.

Mordin headed back to the ship for some experiments leaving Garrus and Shepard to head down to the Presidium. The two stayed quiet and enjoyed the walk for a few minutes. 

Shepard suddenly stopped on the narrow walkway and nearly caused Garrus to knock him over.

“Sorry.” Shepard apologized as the two recovered. “Just spotted a shop I want to head to.”

"You didn't need to brake check me and get rear ended for that." Garrus chuckled.

Shepard poorly suppressed a smirk but his eyes danced with humor.

"Get your head out of the sewer." Garrus joked, shaking his head.

"If my head didn't go there before, it did now." John laughed and blushed profusely.

Garrus just rolled his eyes and huffed in mock irritation.

Shepard shrugged and headed into Cipritine Cuisine, an all dextro high end food shop. Inside a familiar brown played torin wearing a tan suit stood at the counter.

"Welcome to Cipritine Cuisine! How may I- eh. Help you?" The older torin balked. "Welcome back, commander!" 

Garrus watched the man round the counter and hold out a hand to Shepard which he took in the turian fashion and shook. The torin hummed happily.

"Just need to get some food supplies. Brought my friend here to make sure we got only the good stuff." Shepard smiled.

Garrus only stared at the other turian with suspicion.

"Yes, of course!" The torin eyed Garrus. "You must be Garrus! I hope you enjoyed what the commander had bought last time, however long ago it was."

Garrus said nothing.

"Well we were a little busy. Your memory is impressive, and only serves to make me want to return more, Jax." Shepard chuckled.

Jax beamed at the commander and Garrus glared at Jax.

"Of course! I spent enough time in the hierarchy to know not to ask questions. Let me pull up my stock. It's changed the last few years but I think you'll like it!" He said to Garrus.

Garrus didn't answer, so Jax merely turned and pulled his inventory. Shepard shot a mild glare at his friend before Jax turned back.

"Here we go! I have a special discount set up for you as thanks for what you did, and being a repeat customer. I also pulled up a special order form, so just select whatever packages you want and edit away, no extra charge." He smiled at Shepard and Garrus, his subvocals humming in a pleasurable way that irritated Garrus.

Shepard stepped up and began to fiddle with the console before turning back to Garrus.

"Why am I doing this?" He smirked at Garrus. "You're the one that's going to eat this."

"Oh. Of course." Garrus stepped up.

After a short half minute he stepped back. Both Jax and Shepard frowned.

"That really can't be it." John looked at his friend with an eyebrow raised and a hand on his hip.

"I don't need much." Garrus shrugged.

"That has no variety." Shepard said matter-of-factly. 

Garrus said nothing as the two regarded him. 

"Fine." Shepard raised his hands in the air in defeat.

Shepard spent several minutes picking away at the terminal as Jax glanced between the two men. 

"There, that's the order." Shepard turned to Jax.

"Excellent! The total is added up, and I can have that sent to your ship quickly."

Shepard looked at the total and startled. 

"That's really low!" 

"It's fine. As I said, it's my way of saying thanks." The torin shrugged and smiled.

"Well, I can't just leave with not doing something for the discount. Maybe an endorsement?" He asked cautiously.

Jax lit up at that and keyed up his omni tool.

"I'd love it! Just give me a second… here! Speak into this."

Shepard leaned forward and cleared his throat.

"I'm Commander Shepard, and this is my favorite store on the Citadel." 

"Perfect!" Jax nearly bounced in joy. "I'll have that edited and up in no time. Thank you so much!" 

"Of course!" Shepard smiled back. "We gotta go, but I really appreciate it Jax. I'll be back for a restock for sure."

"Anytime, Commander!" 

At that the two men left the store. They grabbed a taxi nearby and made their way to the rendezvous with Kasumi.

"What has you grouchy?" Shepard asked his friend after a short silence in the cab.

"Nothing." He shrugged, not looking at Shepard.

"It's not nothing. Did Jax annoy you? He was a bit much but he's a nice store keeper." Shepard offered neutrally.

"I'm just tired."

"Uh huh." Shepard narrowed his eyes at Garrus, but decided to drop it.

*****

When Shepard walked back to the docks, Kasumi had hacked the ads to get his attention. As he played innocently with his omni tool, he wondered how long she could keep the charade up. After the fourth or fifth 'ad' she finally called him out. After a surprisingly long conversation he had agreed to go after something for Kasumi, and the Normandy was now headed to Beckenstein.

Shepard stared at his console in his quarters. Finally he hit send.

"Hey, Maggie. It's John. Yes it's really me. I know I died, but someone paid a LOT of money to keep me alive and fix me up. Long story short, I spent a lot of time on a surgery bed out cold and just recently woke up. Back as a spectre on a mission and headed to Beckenstein. Can't say much else on just an encrypted message. Sorry to get you the news this way, but just wanted to let you know before you saw it in the vids."

John stood up from his desk and began to feed his new fish when the console lit up with a call. He braced himself and answered it.

Maggie had a furious look on her face, and when she saw John, it got even more angry.

"Fuck you." She said.

"What?" John recoiled a bit.

"Either this is some sick trick and you're not my brother, or you have been awol for years."

John sighed.

"You call me glowstick as a joke since I had my biotics manifest, dad and I worked on our 1968 Cortina 1600E all the time terrifying mom, it was red with a beige interior, nana taught me how to play the violin, and that one time I broke mom's vase when I was 6 I tried blaming you but mom never fell for it and you thought it was hilarious I tried." Shepard crossed his arms and glared back at Maggie.

"Fuck. It is you." She looked stunned and took a step back from her vid console. "What happened?"

"Long story short, someone got my body, spent a lot of time and money fixing me, and now I'm on a mission to figure some shady crap out. Just got done with updating Councilor Anderson and they gave me my spectre status back." He sighed. "I'm sorry you had to go through thinking I was dead."

"Well, we had a wake. Though with no body it was an empty and closed casket and wasn't all that real feeling. So I guess it didn't count." She shrugged and smiled. "Why are you coming here?"

"I can't say. Spectre business." He blinked at her ability to bounce back from the news.

Maggie rolled her eyes.

"Well, I'm the DA in Milgrom now, so warn me a bit if you shoot the place up. That way I can be prepared to swim in paperwork." She smiled.

"I will." He smiled back. 

After a moment's pause, Maggie spoke up.

"Mom's gonna shit the bed over this." She smirked knowingly.

"Yeah, not looking forward to that conversation." He rolled his eyes.

"Well let me know if you need help smoothing it over." She chuckled.

"Will do."

"I've gotta get back to the courtroom, but let's have lunch or something while you're here. I gotta process this a bit, and a vid call is a bad way to chat about big shit."

"Sounds good. Love ya." He smiled warmly at his older sister. 

"Love ya too, glowstick." She grinned back.

Maggie hung up and Shepard let out a deep breath.

*****

Smoke billowed up to the landing platform on Hock's mansion. His gunship had finally lost its shields and Shepard was able to land a killing blow with his rocket launcher. Now they had several dozen bodies, a few injured mercs, and the survivors fleeing. Shepard called for the shuttle but also asked Garrus to come down.

"You can head out if you want Kasumi, I'm going to help get this mess sorted and make sure the art gets where it belongs. The cops will ask questions." Shepard told her as the shuttle arrived.

"I'll stick around. They won't see me." That said, she activated her cloak and disappeared.

Garrus walked over to John, stepping over and around dead mercs and destroyed mechs.

"Looks like I missed out on the fun." Garrus let out a turian whistle.

"Oh yeah. Facing an army of mechs and Eclipse with just one person is a blast. First time breaking into a vault though."

"Hm. You'll have to tell me about that one."

Shepard chuckled and keyed up his omni tool. He listened to it ring several times before his sister picked up.

"Hey, John. What do you need? I'm in a meeting with the Milgrom police chief and some attorneys." 

"Perfect. I need some local assistance. I raided a criminal's mansion, spectre business, and in his vault are hundreds of stolen pieces of artwork and illegal weaponry. I could use some help making sure it all gets to the right places."

There was a long pause.

"Who's mansion?" She asked cautiously.

"Donovan Hock." He said hesitantly.

Shepard recoiled from the amount of swearing and cursing that came from Maggie.

"We've been after him for years, slowly building a case, and you say you raided his mansion? Is he in custody?"

"Dead. I destroyed his gunship." He winced.

More swearing in English and Celtic burst from Maggie.

"Look, I'll do some digging around and I can find you evidence of his operations. That still needs to be dismantled." John offered.

"Fine. What help do you need?" 

"Lots of cops and the fire brigade, as well as bomb squad, and someone who can coordinate bagging up the art pieces for transport to their homeworlds."

"Okay. I'll get back to you on that." She said and hung up.

John transmitted his Spectre authorization along with the standard official request for local authority help.

"So, do I finally get to meet another Shepard?" Garrus asked as he sidled up next to John with a smirk.

John shot him a mild glare. 

"I suppose. I am about to hand her a massive load of evidence and other stuff so it’ll be all business.” He said as he brought up his comms again. “EDI, I’m creating a link to Hock’s private network. Can you make a copy of all files in the network, and highlight any information on his criminal networks, organization, et cetera? Copy it onto the disk I’m putting into this console, and upload a copy to the Normandy. Send me a full schematic including security systems on Hock’s mansion as well.”

“Understood, Commander.” She replied, her holographic pawn like image popped onto the console just inside the hangar after a half minute. “Upload complete. All encryption, viruses, and self destroying algorithms are cleared. I have also taken the liberty of preparing a short summary of the contents of the files.”

John and Garrus both stared at the console for a moment.

“Uh, thank you, EDI. That’ll be all.” John said mildly surprised.

“Of course, Commander. Logging you off.” 

Shepard grabbed the data disk from the console and placed it into one of the compartments on his armor.

“Now we just wait for backup.” John walked back out onto the platform and sat on a crate. He began munching on an energy bar and sipping a bottle of water.

“So, anything I should be warned about?” Garrus asked, sitting down next to Shepard.

“She’s a DA for a city full of rich and powerful people. She thinks its fun to throw billionaires in jail. So yes, there is a lot of stuff to warn you about if I had a week.” He shrugged. “All her attention will be focused on me and this business though, so you should be fine.”

“Why am I not confident of that?” Garrus chuckled. 

“Because I’m not,” He laughed.

The two waited for some time before a dozen vehicles appeared on the horizon coming from Milgrom. Shepard waved off the Cerberus shuttle to make room and he and Garrus stood up to greet the new arrivals.

Shepard counted a half dozen police cars, several shuttles, and even two police buses approaching with their lights on. Behind those were a pair of unmarked police vehicles, and two white vans with markings Shepard didn’t recognize. A couple dozen heavily armed officers were the first to disembark a few cars and a shuttle, and the two buses and remaining cars passed overhead toward the front of the mansion. After the officers swept the landing pad and began moving inside, the two black unmarked cars landed. Several armed men and women in suits exited the rear car, and Maggie and another uniformed man exited the car closest to Shepard.

Maggie wore a dark green three piece suit with a skirt and creme high heels, her dark curly hair was held back just enough to keep it off her face and shoulders, and a series of pearls and other gems were braided throughout in a typical Beckenstein fashion. The man with her wore a dress uniform in a similar style to Alliance dress uniforms, but his was adorned with more gold trim, epaulets, and other medals and insignia. The four stars on each shoulder and the shiny name tag identified him as the chief of police for Milgrom.

“Hello, John.” Maggie smiled and shook his hand. “This is Chief Graff, head of Milgrom Police.”

“Nice to meet you, Spectre.” He shook his hand as well. “Quite the scene you’re handing us.”

“It is. I apologize for the mess, but it’s all for good reason.” He nodded at the chief.

After introductions were made, the white vans landed and several men and women in suits and coveralls exited. 

“They’re from the Milgrom Art and Culture Bureau.” Maggie said, gesturing to the group.

A dark skinned woman in a teal pants suit walked up and held out her hand to Shepard. 

“Diana Kamua. Curator for the Milgrom Arts and Culture Center.” 

John shook her hand and introduced himself and Garrus.

“With introductions done, shall we head in?” the chief asked.

John nodded and led the group back through the area he had just fought through. After a long walk, mainly due to them stopping every minute to inspect some weaponry, tech or other item, they finally arrived at the doors of the vault. 

“This is the best part.” John smiled. 

“I can’t imagine anything more shocking than WMD’s and other highly illegal weapons distribution.” Maggie responded. 

John keyed the door and led the group inside. Several paces in everyone stopped and gasped. 

“Is that… the Statue of Liberty?” Maggie stared in wonder at the remains of Lady Liberty. “I never knew he had all of this.”

“Christ, there is so much here. Some millennia old.” Diane scanned the room. The rest of her team seemingly unable to process all of it. “It will take us awhile to document it all, but we’ll definitely make sure it gets back to where it needs to. Possession of some of these turian pieces is punishable by death, they’re so rare and treasured.”

“I’ll have officers stationed here till we get all of this sorted and the right people to handle it. I don’t want Milgrom to be the ones to lose treasured cultural artifacts right after finding them.” The chief stated.

Maggie walked up to Shepard and pulled him aside away from the stunned group.

“This is huge, John. Did you find anything else?” She asked. “With Hock dead, we can slow the investigation against him and start dismantling his organization. There has to be more than this mansion.”

John nodded and produced the holodisk. 

“My people data-mined his network and swept it of any viruses or self deleting files. All should be there.” 

She scanned the holodisk and read the summary.

“This is better than anything I could’ve hoped for. Unsurprisingly I see some names on his payroll in the police and city council as well as the planetary government. This will have us working for years. You don’t do anything in small scale do you?” She chuckled.

“No, not really.” he shrugged.

“Thank you. If you have time, you should come into town and have lunch. We can catch up.” She offered.

“I have to head out. This alone has taken up what time I have.” he offered apologetically.

“Of course. I’ll be on the Citadel soon. My counterparts there will want this information too, as will C-Sec. We can meet up there too someday.” She smiled.

“Yeah, I think that will work. We’ll figure it out.” He nodded.

“Alright, well I’ll let you go. Good to have you back, glowstick.” She smirked.

“Thanks, stay safe and have fun with that.” He nodded and waved at the disk.

After a few more words with some of the others on the scene and an official endorsement of the evidence by his spectre credentials, Garrus, Kasumi and Shepard began to board their shuttle and left to the Normandy.

Before Garrus could step around the group from where he was watching in the background, Maggie stopped him.

"Mr. Vakarian." She nodded, all business. 

"Yes, Ms. Shepard?" He turned mildly surprised that the petite woman was projecting so much power and presence at him.

"Take care of my little brother. He's a sensitive, old soul. This stuff beats him to hell and back but he does it anyway, and does it VERY well. Just make sure he takes care of himself." She said to quietly for anyone but him to hear.

"I have his back." He spoke with equal resolution.

Maggie nodded, seemingly satisfied.

"Thank you." She smiled professionally and held out her hand. "It was good to meet you."

"You as well." And he shook her hand in the human way.

She moved to turn away but spoke at the last second. He was just barely able to hear it.

"Take care of yourself too. It's clear you two are very close." She smiled warmly this time and walked away before he could even answer.

*****

"What was that about?" Shepard asked Garrus a few minutes into the ride back to the Normandy.

"Hm?" Garrus hummed, having been pulled out of his thoughts.

"Maggie stopped you. You talked for a second." He asked neutrally.

"Oh!" He nodded, his brow plates furrowing in thought. "She asked me to watch your back."

"Oh, ok." He nodded and looked to where Kasumi was lost in her and Keji's memories.

The two sat quietly for the rest of the shuttle ride, Garrus deep in thought, and Shepard with a small wistful smile.

**Author's Note:**

> Some of my head canon has different down time interactions with the crew, as well as ways missions go. This is more of an expression of how I wish options had been there for them. Otherwise, I've tried to keep it as canon as possible.


End file.
